Broken Twins
by Slayer End
Summary: What was the first thing you saw when you were born? Most likely, the caring eyes of your mother. Why is it that my twin sister was given that right and not me? The first thing I saw when I entered life was the unforgiving, dark ceiling of the morgue...
1. Arrival

_Twins: a pair of offspring resulting from a single pregnancy who are usually born in close succession…_

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A figure stood at the gates of Konohagakure no Sato, the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

_Konoha was known as the strongest village in all the shinobi nations. It was far from being a joke as Konoha was the only villages to suffer the greatest tragedies but immediately bounce back afterwards. _

_One such tragedy had been the Kyuubi attack… _

_Hundreds of shinobi were demolished with each swipe of the great beast's nine tails. Its fur was crimson just like the blood stained across the battle field. Its eyes were like the fires of hell… There was no escape. _

_Until the Yondaime Hokage (Fourth Fire Shadow) struck and defeated the beast. The story goes on to say that the Kyuubi was killed that day. It goes on to say that the Yondaime's child and his wife were both killed. _

_However, this was a lie… _

_The Yondaime did indeed defeat the beast… but… _

The figure stepped towards the gate and stopped at the guards.

"Papers?" asked one guard.

The figure reached into his cloak and handed them to the man.

"…A recommendation from three Daimyos?" asked the guard before his partner let out a low whistle.

"You don't see that very often." said the partner to the first man.

The figure stood completely still.

It was… eerie…

The second guard took the opportunity to look at him while his partner checked the papers.

The figure couldn't have been older than thirteen. He was _just_ over five feet in height. His hair was blond with red tips and was spiky, untamed. His face was covered by a bone-white mask with pitch black markings on it. The markings were arranged to look like a strange smiley face.

His attire consisted of a blue shirt. The sleeve of the left arm made it to his wrist and was loose. The other sleeve looked like it was torn off at the shoulder. His entire right arm was wrapped in bandages. His left hand had a black glove that completely covered it from view. A rusty, metal plate was on the back of it.

He had on loose, baggy pants that were a slightly darker shade of blue. His kunai pouch was tightly bound to his left thigh with bandages. His sandals were black. The most identifying thing about this young man was the blank Hitai-ate (Forehead Protector) that was tied around his waist like a belt.

His skin was tan, from what the guard could tell. His eyes were shadowed by the mask, but, in the right light, he could see what color they were… how odd. The figure's left eye was blue and the right was green…

"Well, I needed the recommendation to come here, neh?" asked the boy.

The guards shared glances.

This kid was a Ronin, obviously. He was a self-taught shinobi.

_Ronin are self-taught shinobi. It is said that Ronin don't make it very far in life or skill due to their inability to easily acquire techniques and jutsu like the shinobi of Hidden Villages. The only Ronin who are regarded as being successful are those that were trained by Nuke-nin and even then they usually perish before achieving a chunin level of skill. They are the weakest shinobi in all the Elemental Countries and are often overlooked as threats. _

_Though not unheard of, they are still excessively rare. The only successful Ronin to ever exist were the founders of the Hidden Villages of the Elemental Countries and, even then, their skills at their prime can oftentimes pale in comparison to current day shinobi from Hidden Villages. They are identified through their blank Hitai-ate…_

"Kid, not that it's my business or anything, but… are you _sure_ you want to do this?" asked the first guard.

The boy replied with a nod.

"You know what happened to the last Ronin to compete in the Chunin Exams, though… right?" asked the second guard.

There was a pause.

_The chunin Exams are regarded as being a stepping stone for shinobi everywhere. They are held once every six months in circulation around each of the existing Hidden Villages. Shinobi of the Hidden Villages, more specifically genin shinobi, are the only ones allowed to participate without excessive recommendation. _

…_This 'Excessive Recommendation' being the recommendation from a high-ranking official in at least one country. The more recommendations, the more likely it is you can participate. The only shinobi who need these recommendations are Ronin, self-taught shinobi. Furthermore, these recommendations can only come from Daimyos. This makes it excessively difficult for Ronin to achieve a higher official status. _

_Ronin haven't competed in the Chunin Exams for well over twenty years. The first time Ronin entered the exams, there were no restrictions. Out of the three hundred Ronin who participated, none survived. The second and last time they participated was just after the end of the last Great Shinobi War. Only fifty or so participated and the second results were the same as the first…_

"I know." came the boy's cold voice.

The second guard finally stamped the papers, allowing the boy into Konoha to participate in the Chunin Exams.

The boy stepped through the gates without another word.

The second guard turned around just in time to see the boy with his back towards them… and the orange spiral shape on the back of his shirt.

"Who was that Gaki (Brat) anyway?" asked the first guard.

The second guard took a moment to respond as he looked through the papers… and his eyes widened in shock as he paled considerably.

Ever so slowly, the file slipped through his fingers and onto the ground…

_The Yondaime did indeed defeat the beast… but…_

_Perhaps the two who were the most deeply affected though the entire affair were a pair of twins. One would forever be the Jinchuuriki, the Human Sacrifice chosen to hold the Kyuubi. The other… would become a __true__ monster…_

"What… what is it?" asked the first guard.

"His name was…" began the second guard.

The boy wasn't far enough away to not notice the look of shock appear on the first guard's face. He saw it… The gates of Konoha finally closed…

"This Chunin Examination… where will I be going, anyway?" the figure asked himself.

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End of Chapter 1

I honestly didn't think that I could make this into a story. I'd always thought that it was just some passing idea I'd had. But no, this idea has become a story. Hopefully, it will be a good one…

_**Forever Signed in Blood, **_

_**Slayer End**_


	2. First Test

_Darkness reigns at the foot of the lighthouse…_

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The boy stood in the Examination room in the furthest corner. He drew no attention to himself. Nobody knew him or who he was… yet. They didn't care either.

Under his strange mask, he smirked.

It was fitting really. He was a Ronin. He was completely insignificant in comparison to other shinobi. Nobody cared about him…

He didn't care. He had no need for others, especially not now. He couldn't care less of what happened to other people.

They were all monsters…

He paused when he saw a girl shout out to the crowd that had gathered in the examination room that she would defeat them all. It brought a smirk to his face, though hidden under his mask. He flexed his bandaged right hand a few times as though it were holding something.

'_A heart, perhaps?_' he thought morbidly with an unseen frown and slight scowl.

His eyes slowly drifted to every corner of the room as he examined who he may end up fighting.

'_Such a pathetic bunch… By my estimation, no more than seven teams will survive everything._'

His eyes finally stopped on a 'Konoha Genin' explaining things to the rookies. He smirked.

'_Nobody besides the Hokage should have information like that. Hell, I don't think he'd even be so thorough as to have info on other villages as well… so… there is a spy amongst us? No matter. I shall still have my vengeance…_'

It was around that time that the only team of Oto-nin (Sound Ninja) made an appearance. The boy's eyes narrowed once more.

'_Oto shinobi, ne? I can tell from here that they're a dangerous bunch. Bandage boy is clearly chunin level already… why would he need to take this exam? Maybe it's a piteous show of strength. Maybe he's just in it for the chaos… or maybe, just maybe, he's here to eliminate a threat… Nah, what are the chances of that?_'

"Quiet down you worthless Temes (Bastards)!" shouted a jonin in a black trench coat, "Thanks for waiting… I am Morino Ibiki, the examiner for the Chunin Selection Exam's first test."

He pointed his finger to the Oto (Sound) team.

"Otogakure (Sound Village) guys, stop doing as you please before the Exam. Do you want to fail already?" he asked.

Bandage boy spoke up, "Gomen Na Sai (I apologize)… This is our first time… We got a bit carried away…"

There was a slight pause…

"Bah… Here's a good opportunity to say this… There will be no fighting without permission of the examiner. Even if permission is granted, killing your opponent will not be tolerated." he said.

'_For now… when we enter the later parts, al hell will break loose. I'm willing to bet everything I have, including the clothes on my back, that people are going to either die or be horrendously maimed._' The boy thought to himself with a scoff.

"Those maggots that disobey will be failed immediately. Do I make myself clear?" Ibiki asked.

The boy smirked.

"Crystal, Sir!" he said with a mock salute.

Ibiki paused and stared in the boy's direction as did all the others in the room. Ibiki's eyes eventually landed on the boy's Hitai-ate…

"…A Ronin? You'll be dead before you know it. Back down while you still can, Gaki." Ibiki said.

"Look, I've gotten the recommendation, I've gotten into this very room, and I have been preparing myself for this moment for a long time. If I've made it this far, I'm not backing down now of all times. It would be retarded of me to do so." said the boy.

"A Ronin?" muttered some of the shinobi in the room.

"What's that?" asked another.

"Never heard of them…"

"Maybe it's a clan name?"

"I wonder if he's strong…"

The boy sighed and leaned against the wall until Ibiki shouted at everyone to recall order to the room.

"Settle down, Maggots!"

There was silence once more.

"That's better… We will now be starting the first test in the Chunin Exam…" spoke Ibiki.

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"Neh, Kabuto-san… what's a Ronin?" asked the girl from earlier to the 'Spy'.

"Well, Narumi-chan, a Ronin is a self-taught shinobi. Often because they didn't have the privilege of being born in a Hidden Village, they are regarded as being weaker. It is easy to underestimate them and, chances are, you'll never see a Ronin again after today." explained Kabuto.

"Why's that?" asked Sakura, a pink haired girl.

"Ronin are a dying breed. Each year, fewer and fewer of them make an appearance. Eventually, they'll go extinct. It's a pity, really… you see, the founders of all the shinobi villages were technically Ronin, despite their well-regarded power. As for why you'll never see that boy again, it's quite simple. No Ronin has ever survived the Chunin Exams to date." replied Kabuto.

Narumi continued to stare at the Ronin, however.

She wore an orange T-shirt with a red spiral-like symbol on the back. Her hair was blonde with red highlights and done in a pair of ponytails that went to her shoulders. She wore the bottom part of an orange jumpsuit and had a kunai pouch tied around her right thigh. Her Hitai-ate was tied around her forehead. Her left eye was green while her right was blue. Her skin was tan and she had three whisker-like marks on both her cheeks.

'_Why does he feel so… strange?_' she thought to herself.

Her attention was diverted to when Ibiki assigned them seats and began handing out papers…

"NANI (WHAT)?! A paper test?!" she shouted.

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It was easy for the boy. The test itself was also obvious… and with his _unique_ ability, nobody could cheat off his paper without being caught doing so. At the same time, he could cheat of their papers and not get caught.

His right arm was dispelling a trickle of his chakra into other people's jutsu; this caused a fluctuation of chakra which alerted the chunin surrounding them to the cheaters. Though he couldn't do this to Kekkei-Genkai (Bloodline Limits) without getting caught, he could still lead to those users being kicked out.

While the genin were being kicked out and while all eyes were on them, he could use the reflection of the mirror that Bun Girl set up. That reflection would get him nothing from his angle; rather, it was the reflection _of_ a reflection. By using the window as a mirror, he could easily make out other people's papers no matter where they were…

Wait… Hell, he detected some blonde girl behind him. In front of him was a pink-haired girl that w swizzing through the answers… Wait a minute… He had the appearance of somebody who answered nothing while the pinkette had information. That meant that the clan jutsu was about to be used by… the blonde girl in order to get the pink one. But, from where she was… it would hit him!

'_Damn Yamanaka_…' he thought as the world blurred.

He felt her spirit enter his body and everything became dark.

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Yamanaka Ino wasn't a prodigy by any means. However, she was smart enough to know how the mind worked. A common and healthy mind would be something like a bunch of caves, some sewers, tunnels, maybe a garden labyrinth… however, this was the first time she had ever been inside of a mind that looked like a graveyard.

She turned around and looked at a particularly large headstone with a smiley face on it.

"Get out of my head or I'll eat your soul…" spoke the voice of a little boy from all around her.

The sky turned red and lightning came down upon her… mental note, never go into this person's head like that ever again…

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Ino awoke suddenly and barely stopped herself from screaming. Her head hurt like hell… and that Ronin person was glaring daggers at her now.

"Pencils down!" called Ibiki.

Ino's eyes widened in shock… How could twenty minutes have passed in what felt like not even two? How?!

"I will now be announcing the tenth question!" he shouted.

The boy with the mask smirked.

He already had answered the other nine…

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End of chapter 2…

Well, that was certainly productive. The mysterious Ronin is in the Chunin Selection Exams. And, what's this?! It appears that he is completely insane!

Well… this will certainly be interesting…

_**Forever Signed in Blood, **_

_**Slayer End**_


	3. Scrolls

"_If you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there…" Lewis Carroll_

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"'Go through the forest' she says, 'Get the two scrolls' she says! This is ridiculous! I've come across six teams and every one of them had the same scroll as me!" shouted the lone Ronin as he marched through the Forest of Death, "What's really weird is the fact that when I started this, I had a heaven scroll. But, when I found an earth scroll, mine looked just like an _earth_ scroll!"

There was a pause…

"Kai (Release)!" he said, putting his hands into the sign for rat.

The scroll suddenly looked half black and half white with the word 'Open' on it.

Another pause…

"Genjutsu (Illusion Technique)! The whole fucking time?! Damn it! Am I really that stupid?!"

There was no response…

The boy sighed to himself, "Might as well open it…" he trailed.

He broke the seal and opened the scroll.

"Participant," he read aloud, "You are required, as a Ronin in these exams, to acquire something to compensate for the scroll test and show total competence. Bring to the tower, instead of two scrolls, Three Hitai-ate. The Hitai-ate must each be from different villages and must have been acquired from genin in this exam. There are cameras all over the forest to insure that you are not cheating in any way, shape or form. Aside from this, there is only one other rule… don't die… Signed, The Sexy and Single Mitarashi Anko…"

Silence…

"I'm starting to really hate that woman…" the boy murmured to himself before he looked around.

There was a large crashing sound in the trees behind him. The boy spun around and ran into the trees; he jumped onto one of the higher branches and looked down into a clearing.

An Iwa (Stone) team and an Ame (Rain) team were fighting each other. The Ame team relied heavily on genjutsu while the Iwa team was throwing jutsu after jutsu at them… without success.

The boy smirked.

"That's two…"

The Iwa team looked rather tired, finally, when the Ame team emerged from the shadows.

"So, are you going to give us the scroll, or are things going to get messy?" asked one of them.

"Fine! Take it! Just leave us alone!" called one of the Iwa-nin before he threw the Ame team an Earth scroll.

'_Now!_' thought the boy suddenly as he threw a kunai.

It impaled the scroll and pinned it to a tree.

"What the hell?!" shouted an Ame-nin.

The boy smirked before he brought his right hand in front of himself… and snapped his fingers.

Only a second passed before there was an explosion of blood from two of the Ame-nin which killed them instantly. The last Ame-nin standing fell to his knees as small holes had appeared all over his shins and shoulders. The boy walked out and took the Hitai-ate off of the defeated Ame-nin.

"It's nothing personal, man… my last attack split your comrades' Hitai-ate to pieces while it blew their heads apart…" said the boy in a tone loud enough for the Iwa-nin behind him to hear, "Surely you can understand that I need a complete Hitai-ate and not a broken one, so, theirs wouldn't do any good."

"Please! Show mercy!" cried the Ame-nin.

The boy stopped and scowled behind his mask.

"…Mercy?" he questioned.

(_Flashback_)

"Don't kill him! Please! Show mercy!" cried a younger form of the boy as he looked at the hundreds of people being killed in the streets of the small town.

"Mercy? Boy, these _insects_ don't _deserve_ mercy!" shouted the shinobi at him.

The entire town almost immediately exploded…

(_End Flashback_)

"Mercy?! Insects like you don't _deserve_ mercy!" the boy shouted before placing his right hand to cover the Ame-nin's forehead.

Sparks of blue, red, and green danced around the boy's right arm like electricity…

The Ame-nin let out a cry of pain before he exploded in a shower of gore, spraying the Iwa-nin behind the boy. The entire front of the boy, however, was completely red with blood.

He slowly turned around and glared at the Iwa-nin behind him.

"I would like one of your Hitai-ate please." he said politely, it was in a manner like he hadn't just killed three shinobi in cold blood.

Behind his mask, the Ronin rose and eyebrow. He brought up his hand and snapped his fingers again. An Iwa-nin's head exploded.

"Do I stutter?" asked the Ronin in a dark tone, "Gentlemen, are we seeing a pattern here? I only need _one_ Hitai-ate from one of you. So, which will it be? To make things interesting, the Shinobi who doesn't give me a Hitai-ate will…"

He never had the opportunity to finish as one of the Iwa-nin threw him his Hitai-ate. The Ronin caught it in his left hand, pocketed it, snapped his fingers, and the Iwa-nin who surrendered his Hitai-ate suddenly found he was headless before falling to the ground and into a puddle of gore.

"Now, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, the Shinobi who doesn't give me a Hitai-ate will live." said the Ronin before he turned and walked away, whistling a cheerful tune.

"You demon!" shouted he last surviving Iwa-nin.

The Ronin paused and held up his right hand…

"Maybe I am…" he said in a sad tone…

He snapped his fingers…

…There were six decimated corpses in the clearing; all of them were mangled beyond recognition except for one. It was the body of an Iwa-nin who held a look of horrendous fear on his face. His mouth was opened and paralyzed in a perpetual, silent scream… and his legs were on the other side of the clearing with the upper half of his body being impaled on a branch in the trees…

…In the trees of the Forest of Death.

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"So what does Orochimaru-sama want us to do, anyway?" asked Zaku to Kin and Dosu.

"Baka (Idiot)," muttered Kin, "He wants us to find and kill Uchiha Sasuke."

"Show him some slack, Kin. The moron probably forgot while he was looking at your ass." said Dosu offhandedly.

Kin's eyes widened before she spun around and slapped Zaku across the face.

"Hentai!" she cried.

"…Dosu-teme…" muttered Zaku under his breath.

"What was that?" Dosu asked immediately afterwards.

'_Curse his hearing!_' Zaku thought before responding, "It was nothing, Dosu-san…"

"Wait… someone is close." said Dosu suddenly. "Keep quiet and look carefully… there's an enemy nearby."

Kin and Zaku stopped on a branch with Dosu standing on the branch in front of them.

"Ohayo (Hello), Oto (Sound)-nin!" called a figure from an overhanging branch.

The Oto-nin turned their heads to the voice and saw the Ronin standing there.

"Relax… my test isn't the same as yours. I need something else. I simply need one of your Hitai-ate…" said the Ronin in a careful, guarded tone.

'_I don't need to kill them… I can just as easily do that later. For now, I'll let them live and go with the strong ally approach…_' the Ronin thought to himself.

The Oto-nin, however, still held their ground. They were prepared to kill him at a moment's notice.

"I just need one of your Hitai-ate." he continued.

"…Why would you need one of our Hitai-ate?" asked Dosu to the Ronin.

"Like I said, my test is different than yours. I can't take the scrolls because I'm not in a team, so, I simply need to retrieve three different Hitai-ate. I've gotten two, I only need one more." explained the Ronin.

"Well why should we allow more competition to pass through these Exams?" asked Zaku rudely.

"For one thing, I'll be in your debt…" trailed the Ronin.

"And what value could a Ronin be to us?" asked Kin.

"That's another question with a simple answer. As a Ronin, I am not restricted to other Hidden Villages. I can, however, become a valuable informant. To prove just how valuable an informant I can be, I'll even tell you where Uchiha Sasuke is and not breathe a word of 'Orochimaru' or 'Kill Uchiha Sasuke' to a single solitary soul." said the Ronin nonchalantly.

The Oto-nin stilled and paled…

"How long have you known about that?" asked Dosu, "No, a better question, how long have you been here?"

"I was here long enough to gather that little tidbit of information, _Dosu-teme_. I was also able to avoid your detection until then by using my Wind Affinity chakra to create a vacuum around my feet and other parts of my body. Detecting me with scent and sound instantly became impossible. Add in my natural capabilities at hiding in plain sight and taking cover, and there was no way you would have found me until it was too late. I could have ended your lives, disposed of your corpses, and walked away whistling. But, I'm not in the mood for that as I just had to kill two other teams… no, wait… I think _decimate_ is a better word than _kill_ as most of their bodies are unrecognizable at this point…"

Silence prevailed…

"So… do you or do you not want to know where Uchiha Sasuke is?" asked the Ronin.

"We want to know… but, you said it yourself, you could 'kill us and walk away whistling' can't you? What's stopping you?" asked Dosu.

"Like I said, I need people who can send messages, who are good in the information business. By making allies with people like you, this instantly becomes easier."

The Oto-nin looked between each other before finally lowering their guard.

"Alright, we'll accept your terms." said Dosu.

"Excellent! Uchiha Sasuke and his team are currently recovering from a pretty awful battle with the Hebi (Snake) himself! You'll find them due west under the roots of a tree. The Pink one is still active, but, not a major threat unless you let her become one by allowing your guard to drop. Ah, Hai (yes), and I do believe that the one with black hair was given one _hell_ of a hickey by Orochi-san…" informed the Ronin in a cheery tone before becoming deathly serious, "I wonder why Orochimaru-san would ask you three to kill somebody who he obviously values… unless he didn't care for your well being at all. Even with your skill, I doubt you'd be able to stand up to a Sharingan user, a 'prodigy' at that, for several years. I fear that you three, to him, are no more than cannon fodder for the battle field… to him, you aren't even worthy of being pawns! How loyal of you to walk into such an obvious death trap…"

The Oto-nin became pale and speechless. Their leader, the one who they loyally followed to the point they would be considered blind, was going to kill them. Not directly, unless necessary, of course. Oh no, he would just dispose of them in the most discreet, yet, painful way possible…

It wasn't hard to believe when they looked back at their time in the village. It was common for Orochimaru to kill others like that… so why not them? They were shinobi and, thus, _his_ tools to use and dispose of whenever necessary.

Besides, he was a Kage, they were Genin. The gap between their skills was large enough that, if it were a path that could be walked, it would take centuries to even reach the _half way point_!

"Sh-Shut up! What would you know about loyalty, Ronin?!" shouted Zaku.

"I know that it only takes so much before the ever-loyal dog bites the hand which feeds it. I know that loyalty, on the battlefield, is simply a word and nothing stops your comrade or leader from turning around and killing you. Most of all, I know that loyalty is a double-edged sword in the sense that, if you don't value it properly, it could become your very downfall. So, to answer your question, I know a _lot_ about loyalty… I'm pretty sure that I know a hell of a lot more about _loyalty_ than you." replied the Ronin in a tone which dared to be questioned.

Oddly enough, nobody dared question it.

"Tell you what… I'll do it for you. I'll take the job and report back to you at the tower… that way, you'll be able to stay alive without much issue." he reasoned.

"No." said Dosu firmly, "Even if Orochimaru plans to kill us, it would be best to draw such an event out for later when we can at least put up a fight of some kind. You can assist us in our mission… But you can't do it for us."

Nothing was said for a few moments afterwards.

"Agreed." said the Ronin.

"By the way… how did you know about Sasuke's location?" asked Kin.

"Well, I had a Kagebunshin (Shadow Clone) watching them for about three hours. They may have changed their position by now… but that's unlikely as they're mostly incapacitated… so, we should get going. Oh, hai… and… I can't guarantee I won't be useless… after all, I am but a helpless Ronin…" trailed the Ronin in a tone of sickeningly fabricated innocence…

Zaku had to snicker at that, despite the situation. Kin held stared at the Ronin with an expressionless gaze… and Dosu… Dosu threw the Ronin a spare Hitai-ate of Otogakure (Sound Village) before leading the way… The Ronin caught the Hitai-ate with a smirk beneath his mask…

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That's if for chapter 3!

Next time I'll have a fight between the Ronin and Oto-nin Vs. the Konoha-nin!

Until then, Ja ne!

_**Forever Signed in Blood, **_

_**Slayer End**_


	4. Squirrels

"_Grass grows, birds fly, and brother, I hurt people." Scout, Team Fortress 2_

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"How do you think we're going to get her?" asked Zaku.

"If I may make a suggestion…" trailed the Ronin before holding up a squirrel.

Dosu smirked beneath his bandages and attached an explosive tag to the back of the squirrel before sending it into the clearing.

"Classic nihilism… You three are artists in this line of work. Though, I would have preferred a turtle so there would be shrapnel…" the Ronin said to them cheerily.

There was a pause in the group when the girl threw a kunai that scared the squirrel away.

"How observant, did she notice the explosive on the squirrel?" asked Zaku.

"No… That's not it…" muttered Dosu.

"Don't go in there…" trailed the Ronin cheerily.

"Ah, shut up you!" hissed Kin.

The Ronin paused and stared at her with the emotionless smiley face that was his mask…

And smacked her across the face with his left hand, leaving a red print on it…

"That's gonna bruise." said the Ronin, "But, you earned it for almost blowing our cover. Now, as you put it, 'Shut up, you'…"

Kin was prepared to retaliate before Dosu spoke to her, "Kin, you've done enough already. Let's go in there and figure out what's wrong with this picture…"

Zaku and Kin nodded.

"You, Ronin, you get to stay behind and act as backup when necessary." he commanded.

"Aye, aye Captain Dosu… Roger that, over and out…" continued the Ronin.

"We get it!" sighed out the Oto-team.

They entered the clearing while the Ronin watched in amusement the events that followed.

"…You should have killed that squirrel…" muttered the Ronin, "Or at least thrown it back so it could serve its purpose…"

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"Man… this is troublesome." said Shikamaru, "We haven't been able to find a scroll yet… maybe we should give up so we don't have to deal with all of this…"

He was immediately smacked on the back of the head by Ino.

"Baka! If we give up now, then we'll never become chunin!" she shouted at him.

Chouji paused in his eating a bag of chips and started to sniff the air.

"Hey guys… do you smell that?" asked Chouji.

Ino and Shikamaru paused to smell the air…

"Hai, I smell it…" muttered Ino.

"It smells like iron or… more likely, we're smelling blood." said Shikamaru.

"How would we be able to smell _that_ of all things?" asked Ino.

"Well… It's like when my clan is selling some home-cooked food. One of them alone would be enough to attract a few Inuzuka, but, to get the whole village… we need several." said Chouji.

"So… there must be a lot of blood really close to us, right?" asked Ino.

Shikamaru nodded with a grimace.

The groups passed through some bushes… and were greeted with the sight of two slaughtered teams. One from Iwa and the other was from Ame…

"Kami (God)… what is this?" asked Shikamaru to himself.

Ino held her hands to her mouth to stifle a gasp and Chouji ran behind the bushes to throw up.

Ino felt some tears fall down her cheeks as she began to cry.

Shikamaru paused and looked into the center of the bloody mess that was once six people.

'…_A Heaven scroll! Why would somebody leave that behind… unless… they did this for their own fun… there are some real monsters in this exam… still, a Heaven scroll is a Heaven scroll… We can grab that and go straight to the tower…_' thought Shikamaru to himself.

"A Heaven scroll?" muttered a voice from the tree line.

Shikamaru turned his gaze to the trees and saw Hyuga Neji standing on a high branch.

"M-Matte (W-Wait), we… I-" stuttered Shikamaru.

"Forget it; my team already has a Heaven scroll. I don't need to deal with you cockroaches…" he said before turning around and jumping through the trees.

Shikamaru sighed in partial relief before turning to head back to the tower with Chouji and Ino… or at least, they would have been heading to the tower if they hadn't heard the shout of 'Konoha Daisenpu (Leaf Whirlwind)'…

"What was that?" asked Chouji.

"I don't know… but, I want to find out." said Ino with a determined look in her eye.

"…Troublesome… I though we were through with this test… looks like we'll have to do something else now…" muttered Shikamaru.

The three of them ran in the direction of the noise.

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"Hehe… Up all night?" asked Dosu to the girl, Sakura.

'_These guys!_' she thought to herself… '_The Oto-nin!_'

"But it's no longer necessary. Wake up Sasuke-kun, we want to fight him" continued Dosu.

"N-Nani (W-What)?! What are you talking about?! I know that somebody named Orochimaru is pulling the strings here… What is his purpose?!" shouted Sakura at them.

The Oto-nin stilled.

"I told you so!" said the Ronin gleefully from the trees before he jumped down, "When I told you that you were merely cannon fodder for him, I was right! He just couldn't care less about you guys!"

The Ronin began to laugh a hollow laugh that made Sakura shiver.

"Who are you?!" she shouted at the Ronin.

"All in due time… but, for now, I believe we have more pressing matters…" said the Ronin, "You three still have a mission. Try as much as you'd like and go at him with the intent to kill. I'll send you a life boat to shit creek so you can get enough paddles to level a forest… eventually."

"And besides, hearing that, we can't let the girl go either… she knows a bit too much." said Zaku.

"Agreed… so that means we'll just have to kill Sasuke and the girl…" Dosu pondered.

"Or… you two can aim for Sasuke while Kin and I murder the girl…" trailed the Ronin.

"Wait! There are traps around here." said Dosu, quick to take control, "There's a recently overturned stone here, different colored dirt here… and grass doesn't grow here… These sorts of things are pointless unless gone unnoticed… you're horrible at setting up traps."

Sakura held a look of fear but stood her ground.

"So the kunai was to prevent the squirrel from activating one of the traps?" asked Zaku, "Stupid…"

"Not really, but… she should have killed the squirrel. It would have made things easier…" said the Ronin.

"You keep saying that, but, what do you mean?" asked Kin.

"You're not the only ones with good hearing. My senses of sight, smell, and hearing are much higher than a normal human's. We should finish this quickly because somebody is coming…"

"Right!" called the girl.

The Oto-nin jumped after Sakura…

And the Ronin noticed her smirk… he didn't say anything, though… '_I'll sit back and watch the show…_'

It was around that time that a giant log fell from the tree line and was about to hit them.

The Ronin smirked and chuckled at their surprise.

"Yeah right…" muttered Dosu before putting his Melody arm onto the log and destroying it.

The Ronin pouted under his mask… '_Copycat… though, my attack doesn't work on inanimate objects…_'

The Oto-nin were about to get the girl when suddenly…

"Konoha Daisenpu!" shouted the voice of Rock Lee as he knocked the Oto-nin backwards.

The Ronin blinked and stared…

'_Those are just about the most disgusting pair of eyebrows I have ever seen…_' he thought.

His eyes went slightly to the left…

'_And we __really__ should have killed that squirrel…_'

He watched Lee let the squirrel go and inwardly debated on whether or not to go after and kill it… until he watched Lee make a massive crater to avoid Dosu's attack.

"Smart…" he muttered.

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"Lee sure is late…" remarked Tenten to her companion, Neji, "And he's usually the most punctual of the three of us… you think he could have run into an enemy?"

Neji was silent for a moment, "…I don't like this… somebody in this forest is strong enough to kill two genin teams alone… apparently for sport. It would be wise if we searched for him…" he said.

"Right…" muttered Tenten.

They both jumped to the trees to search for him.

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"Omote Renge (Primary Lotus)!" shouted Lee before slamming Dosu onto the earth that Zaku barely turned sponge-like in time…

"Not a bad job, Zaku!" called the Ronin.

"Yeah, well… I wouldn't have had to stress myself if you had actually done your job!" Zaku shouted back.

"Well, _I_ didn't need to help… the real enemies have yet to actually appear…" the Ronin said, "I'd know… Something big is coming and, honestly, I don't feel like decimating this clearing… Hell, this thing is enough to give my right arm goose bumps…"

Zaku rose and eyebrow before shrugging and turning back to the battlefield…

"Hm… it's almost over for Spandex-boy, after all, he can only do so much before he fails…" the Ronin muttered once more.

There was silence when Lee was finally beaten to the ground and not moving.

"He's not dead… but, that'll do for now, I suppose…" the Ronin trailed.

Kin suddenly grabbed Sakura by her long hair and held her back.

"Let's kill this whore's crush in front of her, that'll harden her to the shinobi lifestyle!" shouted Kin to Zaku.

Zaku grinned… the Ronin did nothing however; he simply stared at Kin through his mask.

"Here, here!" called out Dosu.

"So… let's do it." said Zaku.

The Ronin turned his gaze to Sakura's hand as he watched her dig her fingernails into the earth.

'_How interesting… somebody's going to break…_' he thought just as Sakura cut her long hair… '_…Snap._'

"Kuso (Damn), Kin, kill her!" yelled Zaku.

Sakura performed three hand seals in rapid succession just as Kin rammed into her from behind, impaling her with a kunai…

…Only for Sakura to disappear in a puff of smoke and be replaced by a long.

Zaku spun around to attack Sakura. Meanwhile, Sakura threw several kunai at Zaku.

"Kin, out of the way!" he yelled before firing a blast of air from his palms at Sakura.

The kunai were blasted back and Sakura quickly replaced herself again, causing another log to take the force of the attack.

"Above! You're not fooling anyone!" he shouted before throwing several kunai at Sakura as she came don from, well, above him.

The kunai hit Sakura… and there was no puff of smoke.

"I smell blood…" murmured the Ronin.

Zaku quickly began looking for Sakura elsewhere until he felt blood on his face… a real drop of blood…

"Huh?! It wasn't a replacement!" Zaku said, shocked.

Sakura came down, impaled his arm, and bit the other.

"Let go of me!" he cried out in pain.

The Ronin grinned in amusement behind his mask as Sakura was hit over and over again… he started to chuckle at the pain that Zaku was feeling and the injuries that Sakura was receiving.

"Oi! Dosu!" shouted the Ronin, amusement evident in his voice and tone.

"Nani?" asked Dosu, "What is it?"

"Should I pry that girl off of Zaku? Because, it looks like she's not letting go any time soon…" he trailed.

"Do it."

The Ronin nodded only once before jumping from his perch in the tree and grabbing Sakura by the neck and dragging her bloodied face off of Zaku.

"You're very welcome, Zaku-kun." the Ronin said to him as he helped him off the ground.

Sakura struggled to get off the ground… until the Ronin delivered a devastating, unforgiving kick to her side. She cried out in pain while the Ronin openly laughed.

"This… this is what I live for!" he cried out happily before sighing and putting his thumbs in his pockets, "So… Zaku, she's all yours."

"Gaki (brat)!" shouted Zaku before aiming both his palms at the downed form of Sakura.

At that moment, three figures jumped from the bushes …

"Ino…" spoke Sakura softly, in awe.

"Sakura… I won't lose to you. I've already told you that!" she shouted.

"Oi! Ronin…" started Dosu until he noticed something… "What the hell?! You're leaving?!"

"Hai. This place is getting just a bit too crowded and, though I'm strong, I've already used up strength when I had to wipe out two other teams… Also, these three won't be the only reinforcements… Bushy-brow over there has his own team looking for him. You three, with your skill, should live without issue… But, I'm just a helpless Ronin…" he started until Kin threw a pair of senbon at him.

In sheer surprise he didn't even dodge… or move even when those two senbon needles went straight through the eyeholes on his mask and blinded him.

He didn't even scream…

"Kin… did you throw those at me because I slapped you?" asked the Ronin.

"Y-Yeah…" Kin stuttered, "That and you're also a deserter. We Oto-shinobi kill deserters…"

"Hmm… I see… You're pretty good at throwing senbon. I can feel these things in my brain… you _actually_ impaled my eyeballs. Congrats." He said before pulling out the senbon needles, to the disgust of everyone around him, with his left hand.

The eyeballs were on the separate senbon like kabobs… and blood trailed out of the eyeholes like a pair of red rivers… staining the mask.

"I'll remember this, Kin-chan… Oh! And, to everyone here… have a nice day." He said before he turned and jumped into the trees… running in the direction of the tower.

The silence which reigned afterwards lasted only until Zaku broke it with a rather unintelligent remark to Chouji…

"…So, how about we deal with Fat-ass and friends then kill Sasuke and get to the tower before tomorrow. It can't be that hard…"

"I'm not fat!" shouted Chouji before a battle commenced.

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The Ronin sat on a branch only ten feet from the doors to the tower, his mask was off and in front of him. Right now, he was cleaning off the blood… again.

His eyelids were closed and had just stopped leaking blood before they opened. Rather than revealing empty sockets to the world, a pair of mismatched eyes, his left was blue and the right was green.

"Those morons _really_ shouldn't have done that to me… now I'll have to take it out on something…" he muttered before replacing his mask onto his whisker-marked face.

His eyes drifted to the forest ground below him as he stared at the squirrel that had guided Lee to the Oto-nin. He smirked and jumped down, grabbing the squirrel in his right hand.

"Perfect…" he muttered before sparks appeared all over his arm…

The squirrel exploded into blood.

For the umpteenth time, he wiped gore from his mask. He turned to the doors of the tower and walked through, taking out the three Hitai-ate he had gathered.

As the door closed, his gaze went to the spatter of blood all over the entrance that had once been a squirrel…

"Hai… there will be blood…" he muttered.

The door closed shut once more…

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This is it for chapter 4. Next chapter, the preliminaries begin!

Till then…

_**Forever Signed in Blood, **_

_**Slayer End**_


	5. Tower

_"Is this the doorway to Glory, or the doorway to hell?" Roy Mustang, Full metal Alchemist_

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_A girl is seen with her two teammates just outside of the tower. One of the teammates has pink hair, the other has black… and they are being accompanied by the 'Spy'. _

"_Kuso (Damn)! We haven't found a scroll yet!" shouted the girl. _

"_Na—m-san, you shouldn't be so loud. You'll attract attention to us…" said the 'Spy'. _

"_Kabuto-san's right, Na—m-." said Sasuke, "For once could you not be a dobe?" _

_The name was almost blurred, silence, muffled… it couldn't be made out…_

"_Teme!" she shouted at him before being knocked on the back of the head by Sakura. _

"_Wait… can you hear that?" asked Kabuto. _

_There was silence for a moment. _

"_It sounds like dripping." noted Sakura, "And it seems to be coming from the east…" _

"_That's not too far away…" muttered Sasuke. _

"_We can make it, can't we?" asked the girl. _

"_One can certainly hope." Said Kabuto before the group ran eastward. _

_They didn't need to go far before they saw it… It was a pair of Kusa (Grass)-nin. They had both been torn in half… _

"_N-No way…" stuttered out Sasuke, "We fought against their teammate in the forest. He might have been a fake, but… these guys couldn't have been pushovers either…" _

"_What could have done this?" murmured the girl in awe, trying to prevent herself from shaking. _

_Sakura had turned her gaze away to not become sick at the sight before them. _

"_These bodies are old… This must have happened at the start of the exam… But, who could have done this? And why would they take these bodies out so far?" he asked. _

"_A message, probably… as for whom, look." said Sasuke before pointing at a large boulder in the clearing. _

_In bold letters written in blood were the words "I'M JUST A HELPLESS RONIN". _

_Kabuto scowled very briefly at the message before walking up to the boulder and looking down at the slightly tall grass. _

"_How fitting that their scroll would be here…" he muttered before revealing a Heaven scroll to the group. _

"_Finally some good news… now we can get to the tower…" trailed Sasuke with a relieved, half-smile. _

_The girl and Sakura both nodded… _

The Ronin woke up.

He had been having dreams about this girl since he was five… it never ceased to disturb him that, every time he slept, one of her experiences would come to him…

He paused when he saw somebody pass his open door, a chunin.

"Ronin-san, you are to report to the center of the tower. Now that everyone is present, the matches are to begin." he informed before continuing down the hall.

The Ronin yawned behind his mask before walking out from his room and calmly pacing his way to the center of the tower.

He opened the door and walked in before standing in the rows with the other genin.

"First off, on the second test… Congratulations on passing!" called out Anko to the assembled genin.

The Ronin scowled when he saw her, however.

'_Bitch… If I ever get the chance, I'll kill her slowly for the Genjutsu she put on that scroll in the forest…_' he thought idly while he found himself, once again, clenching and unclenching an imaginary heart in his right hand.

He paused and looked around. '_Also, it would appear that out of the twenty seven teams to participate in the second round, only seven are remaining. With the inclusion of myself and the obvious one-on-one matches that are coming up, there will be eleven matches… that is, unless the spy quits…_'

"Heh… I can't say that I'm getting a good feeling…" muttered Sasuke.

The Ronin smirked. '_…So Itachi-kun's little brother is facing a handicap… I can't say I'm surprised… Still, this is either a gift of the devil, since the gods hate me; or a stroke of good luck… which is more likely…_'

"Listen carefully, Hokage-sama will now explain the third test!" shouted Anko again.

'_Like hell I will… bitch. Besides, I already know the rules… Kabuto-san—if that's even his real name—was so kind as to allow me to __borrow__ his special card deck… I wonder if he's noticed it's gone yet._'

"…Of course there are exceptions to this. Sometimes, with enough recognition and with the permission of at least one Daimyo, a Ronin may enter…" continued the Hokage.

The Ronin paused and looked around only to find that all eyes were on him.

'_Well shit…_' he thought.

He couldn't help but notice the red-head from Suna was staring at him with the intent to kill...

_'You think you know death, eh? Well, I hate to disappoint, but I'm going to have to redefine this definition of death you've forged for yourself...'_

The Hokage continued his speech, turning most eyes back to him… but, a disturbing pair of snake-like eyes continued to stare at him…

The Ronin's interests were piqued again when a sick shinobi announced himself as the referee.

'_None of these people are ready for chunin… well, at least, most of them aren't. They take one look at this guy and dismiss him as being too sick to fight. No… I recognize the name "Gekko"… He's an experienced swordsman who can trick almost anybody into their death. If I showed signs of illness, these morons wouldn't come at me with the necessary intent to kill… Underestimation... Oh, I'm totally going to annihalate them. But... not when they least expect it... I'm not looking for that. It's too underhanded…_' thought the Ronin, _'But what the hell would I know, right?! I'm just a fucking helpless Ronin!'_

It didn't come as a surprise that when Hayate announced upcoming fights to simply be preliminary matches and it was just as unsurprising for the Ronin when Kabuto announced that he had quit…

"Don't take selfish actions." said one of Kabuto's teammates, "Have you forgotten Orochimaru-sama's orders?"

The Ronin paused and listened in. It was fun knowing what was going on… all the time.

"I'll let you guys handle It." replied Kabuto calmly, "Especially you, Yoroi-san. With your ability, there should be no problems. This is your chance to show your strength. I know you're frustrated that I've surpassed you…"

"…Orochimaru's favorite… don't get too confident, kid…"

"I understand, Senpai (Term for someone older or more experienced)." Kabuto said, ending the conversation.

He slowly walked out of the room.

Meanwhile, the Ronin continued to have fun as he watched Team seven…

'_Mark? A curse mark, perhaps? This will certainly make things interesting… and, wait… that girl… she's on the same team as those two… KUSO! How could I be so blind! So-So… oblivious! It's her! She's the one!_' he thought frantically…

"Sakura… I have told you before," began Sasuke to Sakura, "I am an Avenger. This isn't just a test to me. I don't care about chunin or whatever… "Am I strong?" I just want the answer to that. To just fight strong guys here…"

"This Gaki is going to get himself killed…" muttered the Ronin cheerily… eerily…

His gaze went to the Hokage and he listened to the old man speak…

'_Oh please! Like hell they're gonna pull out the 'Last Uchiha'… They'd sooner drop dead of embarrassment. This isn't a tournament; this is an immature act of pride, Hokage-teme! I've seen many things in my life… But this just might be the most foolish! This Uchiha kid needs some kind of guidance… But, why should I care. Not my village, not my problem… Hopefully…_' the Ronin pondered.

"Since we now have exactly Twenty-one Competitors, there will be ten matches and one battle Royale. Ano (Um)…The winners will advance to the third test." explained Hayate, "There are basically no rules…"

The Ronin smiled under his mask.

"…The fight continues until one of you is dead, knocked out, or has surrendered. Ano… -_cough_- If you don't want to die then quickly acknowledge your defeat. "

'_Sounds pretty fair so far…_' thought the Ronin happily.

"But, when I decide that the winner has been established… Ano… since we don't want to pointlessly increase the amount of corpses, I'll jump in and stop things…"

At this, the Ronin scowled. '_That's nice and all, but… where will you be when a Nuke-nin is about to kill these kids? Are you going to jump in and rescue them from death?_'

"And the object that controls your destiny is…" he trailed before Anko gave an order to pull down the certain, "This electronic screen. It will show the match-ups for each battle. -_Cough_- Now, this is sudden, but… let's announce the two names of the first fight." he ended.

The screen seemed to flicker through several of the competitors' names until finally landing on two.

_**Akimichi-Chouji **_

_**VS**_

_**Sabaku no Temari (**__Temari of the Desert__**)**_

All the other competitors went up to the stands… Chouji and Temari stood behind.

"The two participants in the first fight are Akimichi Chouji and Sabaku no Temari… Are you ready?" he asked them.

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be." Chouji said with a shrug and a slightly nervous expression on his face.

"Ready to beat the crap out of this fatso?" asked Temari, "Yeah… I think I can manage that."

"Now… Hajime (Begin)!" he called out before jumping back.

"…What did you call me?" asked Chouji in a dark tone.

"I called you a fatso. Do you have hearing problems too?" asked Temari mockingly.

The Ronin, meanwhile, scowled.

"She really shouldn't underestimate him…" he muttered loud enough for the pair of genin next to him to hear.

One was a girl with pale eyes and the other was a boy in a green spandex suit…

"W-What makes you say that?" asked Hinata.

The Ronin gave her a blank stare from behind his mask.

"Not only is he angry. But, she doesn't know how he fights. Either she's confident in her abilities… or she's one _hell_ of a dumb blonde." he explained, "Furthermore, seventy-two percent of all shinobi who die in the field perish due to underestimating their opponents…"

The girl blinked at that. The Ronin leveled his gaze to the battlefield just as he heard Chouji scream 'Chubbies Rule'…

"And now… she is going to pay the price…"

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End of chapter 5!

Pretty good so far… though I wish it was longer.

Next chapter, we will see the conclusion to the Chouji Vs. Temari Fight!

Until then…

Ta, Ta for now!

_**Forever Signed in Blood, **_

_**Slayer End**_


	6. Hajime

"_Keep away from people who belittle your ambitions. Small people do that. The really great make you feel you can become great." Mark Twain_

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Recap:

_A mysterious Ronin has entered the Chunin Exams, claiming to be a Ronin. However, after killing several shinobi in the Forest of Death, one must wonder… is he really as much of a 'Helpless Ronin' that he portrays himself to be, or is it a terrible façade? Why is he really here? Upon entering the tower, the first match was declared to be… Akimichi Chouji versus Sabaku no Temari… _

End Recap:

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"Baika no jutsu! (Multi-size Technique)!" Shouted Chouji, "Nikudan Sensha (Human Boulder)!"

Temari raised a blonde eyebrow when she saw the human boulder coming at her.

She smirked before revealing a single, purple moon on her iron fan and used a wind attack… Only for the boulder to slightly slow down and continue its path.

Shock covered her features as she stilled, if only for a second. She barely dodged the attack by jumping to the side.

The boulder suddenly stopped and disappeared in a burst of smoke.

'_What the- How could that jutsu have been dispelled so easily?_' thought Shikamaru as he stared closely at the fight. '_She just used a low-class Futon Jutsu (Wind Technique), that shouldn't have been strong enough to dispel his attack… unless…_' Shikamaru smirked.

Shuriken and kunai sailed out from the cover of the smoke. Temari quickly closed her fan and deflected each of them before Chouji called out the jutsu again.

"Baika no jutsu! Nikudan Sensha!" the human boulder rolled out.

Temari opened her fan to two moons and used another Wind attack…

This time, however, things were a _tad_ different…

Chouji stopped.

Well, not really stopped, more like… just rolling in place.

Eventually, the wind died and Chouji's boulder rolled out stronger than ever. Temari's eyes widened before she jumped over the boulder.

Her left hand made contact with the ground while she swung her fan again. The momentum sprung her backwards and onto her feet… as well as sending Chouji's boulder into a wall.

The smoke appeared after only a second, but, rather than waiting… Temari switched her fan to its third moon.

She swung at the smoke…

There was a loud cry of pain before the smoke cleared to reveal Chouji in the middle of a large crater. His eyes were like spirals.

Temari, meanwhile, was slightly panting…

"Ronin-san, didn't you say that Temari-san would 'Pay the Price'?" asked Rock Lee.

"I said that. And she did. Look, she's tired. If she hadn't underestimated him, she would have won much more easily." he said with a shrug.

"Akimichi Chouji is unconscious, so I guess that the winner is, Sabaku no Temari." said the Referee, "Now for the next round…"

_'The Jutsu was dispelled when Chouji hit the wall… But that was his goal all along! He wanted to create a smoke screen to attack from by surprise… In the end, though, he still lost. Troublesome…'_

Temari jumped up to the catwalk while the medics carted Chouji away.

The screen, meanwhile, began going through names…

_**Hyuga Neji**_

_**VS**_

_**Aburame Shino**_

"Will the two selected competitors please come down to the stage." spoke Hayate.

They each walked calmly down into the ring and each took fighting stances.

"Hajime!"

The effects were immediate.

Neji ran at Shino while Shino lifted both his arms and let several insects fly out to strike Neji.

Neji started to strike at the insects even as he closed in on Shino. The odd thing was, the insects seemed stunned rather than dead…

The insects began to awaken and swarmed around Neji before closing in on him.

"…It's over." said a female Konoha Jonin with red eyes, Yuhi Kurenai.

"No… Far from it." said the Ronin.

Kurenai looked down at him.

"What makes you say that?" she asked.

"The fluctuation of chakra coming from Hyuga-kun is rather… obvious." he replied.

"Hakkesho Kaiten (Eight Trigrams Palms: Heavenly Spin)!" shouted Neji before spinning rapidly and blowing away the surrounding insects.

Immediately after, he charged Shino and struck.

"You are within my field of divination…" he trailed before striking mercilessly, "Two! Four! Eight! Sixteen! Thirty-two! Sixty-four! Hakke Rokujuyon Sho (Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms)!"

Shino was thrown backwards and landed painfully.

He didn't get up…

"The winner is… Hyuga Neji." declared Hayate.

"I was destined to win, anyway…" muttered Neji before joining his team on the catwalk.

"I told you so…" trailed the Ronin to Kurenai.

"How did you know?" she asked.

"Know what?"

"The fluctuation of chakra… that's a high-chunin level skill. How do you know how to do that?" she repeated.

"I know what my second half knows. That which she knows, I know. That which I know, she does not." He replied cryptically.

Kurenai's eyes simply narrowed before the screen selected the next two fighters.

_**Yamanaka Ino**_

_**VS**_

_**Tsuchi Kin**_

Kin smirked.

"Now I can pay that bitch back for hijacking my body…" she murmured to herself.

Ino and Kin stood only a few feet from each other when something unexpected happened.

"I give."

Several eyes widened on hearing this.

The Ronin focused his gaze on Ino.

"You _what_?" he asked slowly.

"I give. I've fought this girl in the forest and I didn't stand a chance. I'm not going to risk my life fighting her a second time. Besides, I only saw her fight with Taijutsu. I don't know what else she can do and she knows everything I can do." explained Ino.

The Ronin blinked at that. He blinked a second time…

Then, he fell backwards laughing.

"Oh man! This is rich! The one girl that I thought would die because of pride and bravery turned out to be one of the smarter people in this room! That's rich! It's not often I'm surprised like this!" he almost shouted even as he rolled on the floor, roaring with laughter…

Ino and several others frowned in his direction. Kin, though, was fuming at not being able to fight the girl.

She took out a senbon with a bell attached and was about to run up to the girl and stab her… when suddenly she felt a hand grabbing her wrist that shoved her to the ground.

"Kin-chan, you've already won and while I'm a fan of watching people be slaughtered, I'd rather it be justified mayhem rather than mayhem for the sake of satiating a pitiful grudge." said the Ronin.

Everyone looked at the Ronin in sheer surprise at the impressive show of speed… until they saw that there was two of him.

The Ronin in the catwalk disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Now, Kin… Go back up to the catwalk and wait until the finals to kill somebody. Neh?" asked the Ronin.

"How did you get down her so quickly?" she asked.

"I wasn't not down here to start… almost." He replied.

"Nani?"

"Well, while we were back in the forest, I made a Kagebunshin. I had that Kagebunshin Henge into a senbon needle and hide in your weapons pouch. When you grabbed a senbon, I needed to think quickly. So, I replaced myself with my clone and maintained the Henge before dispelling the Henge to hold you to the ground. The Kagebunshin dispelled, and here we are…" he trailed.

Everyone was stunned…

A Ronin, a self-taught shinobi… did all of that?

Said Ronin finally let go of Kin and let her go back up to the catwalk before jumping back to where he was standing.

There was a moment of silence that was broken with the sound of Hayate clearing his throat.

"Now that we have that out of the way… we can move on with the next match." He said.

The screen went through several names… and landed on two.

_**Nara Shikamaru**_

_**VS**_

_**Akado Yoroi**_

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That's it for six.

And yes, my chapters for this story are short.

I'm not going for long chapters, though. I don't see the benefit in them for this story… yet.

Don't worry, there will be longer chapters in the future.

Especially for the Ronin's match…

Anyway, I've gotta run.

So… Ja ne!

_**Forever Signed in Blood, **_

_**Slayer End**_


	7. Three Minutes

"_The whole world is a narrow bridge. The important thing is not to be afraid…" Fortune Cookie_

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"Well, I'd might as well get this troublesome fight over with…" muttered Shikamaru as he calmly walked down the stands.

Yoroi was more eager and jumped down to meet his opponent.

"You should give up, Gaki," muttered Yoroi to Shikamaru, "There's no way you can beat me."

"I'd like nothing more than to give up, but… that would only be more troublesome in the long run." replied Shikamaru.

"Are the fighters ready?" asked Hayate.

Both nodded.

"Hajime!" he called before jumping back.

Yoroi leaped forwards almost immediately. While Shikamaru jumped back at the same time.

The Ronin stared at the fight for a few seconds before he sighed.

"…That Shikamaru person… of the Nara Clan? That means he can manipulate shadows with chakra." He said aloud, "And if Yoroi's ability is all this card says it is… this fight will be rather long."

"What makes you say that, Ronin-san?" asked Kurenai.

"I'd rather not spoil the surprise…" he said before turning his gaze from Kurenai back to the match.

'_This kid…_' thought Kurenai to herself '…_Is more than meets the eye… He's smart. That's a given, but… if that's all that's going for him, why would three Daimyos actually recommend him? Then there was that moment he was so fast… I almost didn't see him. His speed is certainly high-chunin level…_'

Shikamaru, meanwhile, was constantly jumping back to avoid Yoroi's movements towards him.

"Hold still, Gaki!" shouted Yoroi before he jumped forwards again, only to yield the same results.

Shikamaru jumped back several steps before crouching down and using a hand seal…

"Kagemane no jutsu (Shadow Imitation Technique)." He said before his very shadow stretched out towards Yoroi.

He didn't bother to dodge it.

In fact, he stood completely still, even welcoming the shadow!

And finally, it stuck to him.

Shikamaru scowled.

'_No… no way in hell is this fight going to be that easy… he isn't even acting surprised, let alone beaten… Why did he allow my attack to hit him?_' thought Shikamaru.

He was broken out of his thoughts when, instead of mimicking his every move, Yoroi charged forwards yet again!

"What the hell…" muttered Shikamaru before barely rolling out of the way.

"My kekkei-genkai (Bloodline Limit) allows me to absorb my enemy's chakra just by touching them. When your jutsu hit me, it did nothing except give me more chakra!" said Yoroi with sick glee.

The Ronin turned his head towards Kurenai, "Surprised?" he asked, already knowing the answer…

Shikamaru was mentally cursing up a storm.

There were plenty of reasons for this, too.

First, he only knew a few jutsu and all his jutsu would be immediately dispelled by the man in front of him.

Second, he didn't have as much stamina as this man, he would become tired faster.

And third, this guy… wait, this guy hadn't used any other jutsu.

Could it be that Yoroi's only jutsu was his kekkei-genkai? If so… how could he exploit that?

A look of realization suddenly appeared on his face.

Yoroi grabbed him by the head and slammed him to the floor.

But, before he could laugh in pleasure at his 'victory', 'Shikamaru' vanished in a puff of smoke only to be replaced by a few of the tiles they stood on.

Yoroi didn't even have time to blink in surprise before he was smashed in the back of the head and brought into unconsciousness.

"I was right, that was interesting." said the Ronin.

"The winner is Nara Shikamaru!" called Hayate before Shikamaru muttered a 'troublesome' under his breath and walked back up to the catwalk.

The screen went through the names and landed on two…

_**Kinuta Dosu**_

_**Vs. **_

_**Tsurugi Misumi**_  
The Ronin was silent for a few seconds until…

"Misumi's going to lose so badly, this isn't even worth watching." he muttered before leaning his back against the wall, "You know what, I'm going to the bathroom."

"A-Ano… you aren't allowed to leave this room until the preliminaries are over, Ronin-san…" muttered Hinata.

"Ah, but you see, I'm a Ronin. They don't care what happens to me, it's a fact. I can go as I please so long as I come back within the next three minutes…" he said with a smirk, hidden under his mask.

Hinata looked at Kurenai questioningly, "He's right," said Kurenai, "He can go as he pleases just as long as he's back before his next match."

The Ronin turned and left the room.

**22222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222**

Misumi had wrapped himself around Dosu several times now.

It was getting hard for Dosu to breathe… until he finally got one of his arms free. There was a slight ringing noise from his gauntlet before suddenly…

Misumi screamed in agony and collapsed to the ground, his ears were bleeding all over the floor.

"When I used my Melody Arm just now, I made you deaf for life. In addition, I decided to have a little more fun by turning your entire body into a sound conductor… it was easy since around seventy percent of the human body is made of water, a natural sound conductor… You never stood a chance." said Dosu before walking away from the crippled form of Misumi.

**22222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222**

The water in the bathroom sink ran as the Ronin cleaned the bandages covering his arm.

"I'll have to put these away until further notice to let them dry… until then, I'll use this medical tape." He said before taking a roll of said tape from one of his pockets.

(_Flashback_)

Temari jumped up to the catwalk while the medics carted Chouji away. Even as they carted him away, a roll of medical tape fell from one of their pockets. They never noticed…

(_Flashback_)

The Ronin let go of Kin and allowed her to go back up to the catwalk before jumping back to where he was standing. The medical tape was no longer on the floor, rather, in the Ronin's pocket.

(_End Flashback_)

"Well, it's been about three minutes. Time to get back, I suppose…" he turned to leave the bathroom when suddenly he heard a loud crashing sound.

He paused…

"Well now… it would seem that Ichi-chan is fighting the Youthful Green boy… this should be interesting…" he walked back to the observation stands, "I wonder… which is more powerful? The Green Beast? Or the Monster of Suna?"

**22222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222**

End of chapter 7.

I know that the chapters for Broken Twins are rather short, but, I'd like to once again remind you that they will lengthen very soon.

…So no worrying!

_**Forever Signed in Blood, **_

_**Slayer End**_


	8. Forty Percent

"_It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see." Henry David Thoreau_

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"So… what did I miss?" asked the Ronin, finally entering the catwalk again.

"Sabaku no Gaara and Rock Lee are fighting…" said Shikamaru.

"Ah! Well, this is already looking interesting… I do hope that somebody dies soon, though…" he replied offhandedly.

The shinobi around him spun their heads to look at him so quickly that he could almost hear their necks snap.

"Nani?" asked Kurenai, "You… what?"

"You heard me loud and clear… I'm irritated that I have to repeat myself, but… I hope that somebody dies _real_ soon… otherwise, who knows _what_ I'll do during my match…" said the Ronin.

For a few seconds, the shinobi around him stared at him with shock on their faces. A few even looked somewhat sick…

There was a 'smack' sound as Lee's fist made contact with Gaara.

The Ronin turned his head to the fight at the sound and his eyes widened…

'_His speed! It's… It's unreal! There's no way… what I did earlier fucking __pales__ in comparison to the speed this guy is showing… what __is__ he?!_'

"Incredible! So fast… the wall of sand can't keep up at all! A major blow!" Sakura said in awe.

The Ronin heard everything…

'_I hate to admit it, but I agree with the girl… that Suna Gaki is getting his ass handed to him._'

"It sure is! That Teme took a heavy one!" shouted Narumi in response to Sakura.

"This is bad…" muttered Kankuro, Gaara's brother.

"Mind educating us on why this is so bad, sir?" asked the Ronin.

He didn't get a response, instead he turned his gaze back to the fight just in time to witness parts of Gaara's body breaking and cracking apart. His eyes widened under his mask… but, it wasn't the shield that surprised him, rather… the smile Gaara held as the sand around him moved into offensive positions.

'_He's nuts. These morons… they must have tortured him! They made him suffer! I… can't allow that! Suna is a threat… an inhumane threat… there shall be intervention of the divine and deceased before these exams are over!_' he thought in fury.

"If he gets caught by this Gaara…" muttered Kankuro.

Narumi gulped.

"…He'll be killed for the fun of it." he finally said after a moment.

The Ronin turned his gaze to Kankuro.

"Suna-nin-san, you owe us all a bit of an explanation… having a kid as unstable as this and all. Mind educating us on what that was just now?" asked the Ronin.

"That's the Suna no Yoroi (Armor of Sand)." said Kankuro simply.

"Armor?" asked Narumi.

"Yeah, Suna no Yoroi is a thin layer of sand that covers his entire body through his own will…" said Kankuro.

"While his tenant generates a shield to surround and protect him from the rest of these attacks as well as act as his main offense." said the Ronin, "However, it has failed to be an absolute defense."

"Mind explaining?" asked Kankuro.

"It's simple, if Lee down there was able to damage his armor and bypass his shield, then it isn't an absolute defense. An absolute defense _never_ takes damage. It _never_ can be bypassed. In both cases, this 'Absolute Defense' has failed. He's protected, true… but, not so much that he can't be defeated. Under the correct circumstances, he can fall in battle." the Ronin explained, "Not to mention his obvious lack of stability and tendency to attack all things which move… I'm willing to bet that he isn't immune to genjutsu, neh? All it would take was a well-placed genjutsu of some kind and he'd be a goner. There's no way that his armor will be able to counteract a realistic genjutsu that simulates his death to such a point that his brain fails and his heart stops. Though I'm incapable of such… I can just as easily shatter his shield and break through his armor to kill him…"

"How are you so sure?" asked Narumi.

"Do you know why I'm here?" asked the Ronin back.

Narumi nodded her head, "You were recommended for it, right?"

"That's true… but what do you think I had to do to be recommended by _three_ Daimyo?" he didn't wait for an answer, "There are three small countries that border Hi no Kuni (Land of Fire). These countries are Ame no Kuni (Land of Rain), Kuma no Kuni (Land of Bears), and Kawa no Kuni (Land of Rivers). They are connected to each other and act as a sort of western border. They work as a single unit, but, they stay as separate countries simply due to the fact that they each have different allies they trade with that happen to be enemies with each other. Rather than risk war on the border, they stay separate. Now, there are Daimyo for every country. And the country capitals are located in the center of each of their respective countries. This is also where they live. Now, I'm sure you heard of the Zodiac?"

"You mean like the twelve animals?" asked Narumi, not fully understanding.

"The Zodiac was a powerful gang of bandits, Ronin, samurai, and Nuke-nin. They were actually more of an organization than anything else… they were rumored to have a grasp on almost every criminal operation as far as Kumo (Cloud)… but, their main base was located somewhere between our home and yours. About two years ago, they disappeared without a trace." said Kankuro.

"Oh, you're so close too… their control didn't go as far as Kumo. You could almost say that they were the guys who ran every criminal operation on the _continent_… well, _almost_ every one of them… there have even been rumors that the Sandaime Mizukage (Third Water Shadow) was a member. It certainly would explain the Kiri (Mist) civil war that lasted so long…" said the Ronin, "This organization… their plans were wealth, power… anything! They would even attack helpless towns. They knew no bounds to their cruelty, I personally watched one of their agents blow up a town and burn everyone alive. They were psychotic… I'm actually glad I killed so many people when I declared war on them."

"N-Nani?" asked Kankuro.

"You heard right. The reason I was recommended by those three was because I killed every Zodiac member in the whole damn organization… then I burned their bodies in a field of dead crops. Turns out, their ashes proved to fertilize the earth… it's part of the reason that Ta no Kuni (Land of Rice Fields) has been prospering off agriculture… wasn't it suspicious that right after the Zodiac vanished, the crops in Ta no Kuni prospered?" asked the Ronin, "There really is no surprise that I was recommended by those three…"

"H-How many?" asked Narumi.

"Hmm?"

"How many people did you kill?" she asked, pale as a ghost.

"Honestly, they ended up killing themselves more than I killed them. I just used a little psychological warfare and framed Nuke-nin who would or would not be most likely responsible. I started a civil war… and capitalized on it. Every time I killed somebody on one side, they'd attack the other. I only ended up personally killing seventeen people… but, through my actions, several tens of thousands died. After that, I killed off the stragglers, the ones that escaped… which left me at the grand total of seventy-four kills… I _was_ planning on dropping by Nami no Kuni (Land of Waves) to kill somebody who funded them and gave them weapons, but… he ended up dying. I do believe that his name was… Gato." he said with a shrug, "Still, he gave me information that I needed, even though he didn't know it. He interested me and my contact found me around the same time… so, I was recommended after about a month of discussion. And here I am!"

Narumi was white as a sheet and staring at him with mismatched eyes…

"Ah, yes… but you asked me how I knew? Miss, my right arm has the durability to punch through a wall of diamonds… in one shot. Unless he can somehow counteract that, then I highly doubt that I wouldn't be able to rip out his heart, smash it in my hand, then walk away without a care in the world."

"Are you done…?" Gaara's voice brought the group out of their conversation as they looked down to the fight.

**22222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222**

"_Your second half… I theorize that she was here." said the Ronin's contact to him. _

"_Are you certain?" asked the Ronin. _

"_I've never been more certain in my life. She was here and she left with her group. She is a Konoha Shinobi and is at genin level… that is all." _

"_Well, that means we'll have to use my plan, neh?" _

"_Hai, but… are you certain this is wise?" _

"_Of course I do! Do you take me for a fool?" said the Ronin, mocking hurt, "I'll enter the Chunin Exams and find her there. It'll be that easy." _

"_Then what, master?" _

"_Then…" _

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The Ronin looked at Narumi with a twisted gleam in his eyes that was hidden by his mask…

'_Then…? Then I'll kill her… _'

He turned his gaze back to the fight just in time to watch Gaara being spiraled to the earth at a rapid speed.

"Omote Renge!" shouted Lee before there was a massive crash that filled the area with smoke…

The Ronin smirked…

'_Until then, I'll go with the flow… these people…_' he thought even as the Gaara that had been beaten into the floor was revealed to be a Suna Bunshin (Sand Clone) '_These people amuse me…_'

**22222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222**

Lee was carted away on a stretcher by the medics after Gaara…

"He crippled him." said the Ronin insensitively to the others around him, "…Instead of killing him; Gaara killed his hopes and dreams. That… that's a work of art… To destroy the hope of such a determined person…"

He turned his gaze to the Suna-nin.

"Gaara-san! I commend you. Though you failed to kill him, you did the next best thing. You've sentenced him to the life of a caged bird. No… rather, you've sentenced him to the life of a crippled eagle. Something that soared to high… until you clipped its wings and caged it forever. I wonder, shall this crippled bird look at the sky, longing for retribution or shall he continue to dream… even if his life is forfeit." the Ronin said before he cackled in delight, "I didn't get to see somebody die though… even if this is a good replacement, it's not good enough. I can't wait for the _real_ match to come up…"

_**Haruno Sakura**_

_**Vs. **_

_**Abumi Zaku**_

"Oh come on!" the Ronin almost shouted, "This match will be just like watching reruns of a bad soap opera! And I was really hoping for something interesting…" he muttered the last part under his breath, but… the message was sent.

More and more shinobi in the room couldn't help but feel disgusted looking at the Ronin…

"Do your best, Sakura-chan! I know you'll win!" shouted Narumi.

"Get your head chopped off, Sakura-san! I know you'll bleed to death, die, and lose… though, not necessarily in that order!" shouted the Ronin down to her while heightening the pitch of his voice to mock Narumi.

"You Teme…" growled Narumi…

"Hey, don't shoot the messenger. I'm just telling everyone something I've discovered from a number of _very_ valuable sources…"

"Like who?!"

"Anyone who knows her!"

Narumi and the Ronin's faces were only inches apart. They glared into each other's eyes…

The Ronin sighed, "…Look," the Ronin said after a few seconds, "If you have that much confidence in that banshee you call a teammate, we'll have a friendly wager. If she wins, I'll take off this mask and tell everyone my name, right now. If she loses, well… then I get to go all out on you if we end up fighting during these exams."

"Deal!" Narumi said without hesitation, "_And I don't go back on my word! Dattebayo!_"

There was a pause…

It took her a few seconds to realize that both she and the Ronin had just spoken the same words… at the same time…

"W-What the hell?" she whispered, taking a few steps back.

"Good luck becoming Hokage if you're that easily shaken…" the Ronin muttered before turning his gaze to the fight.

**22222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222**

"Oh, you again? Come on… once was enough!" shouted Zaku at Sakura.

Sakura scowled before taking out a kunai and holding it I her right hand in a reverse grip.

"You think that's going to help? I admit, you surprised me in the forest, but that was only because you had the cover! Now what? You don't have anything to use to protect yourself from me!" he shouted again only to jump back to avoid the several shuriken that were thrown at him.

Sakura ran forwards making hand seals with a kunai between them before throwing the kunai… At first, Zaku smirked.

He brought up his better arm and was ready to blow the kunai away… when suddenly; it seemed to vanish in a puff of smoke only to be replaced with what looked like a hundred arrows.

He seemed stunned and didn't move at all simply from the shock… until he felt pain in his left thigh.

The arrows disappeared and Sakura was still running at him.

'_Shit! Genjutsu!_' He thought before tearing the kunai from his flesh to block Sakura's kunai from harming him.

He smirked before freeing his other arm and positioning it on Sakura's gut.

Her eyes widened…

"Zankuha!" he cried.

Sakura shouted in pain before being blasted backwards. She rolled a few times before collapsing in the crater that was made with Lee's 'Omote Renge'.

A trickle of blood trailed down her cheek.

"Heh… pathetic." muttered Zaku before he spat on Sakura, turned, and walked away.

"The winner of the match is… Abumi Zaku…" said Hayate.

**22222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222**

"Aren't you glad you took that bet, now? I sure am… I can't wait to end you." said the Ronin to Narumi.

Narumi held a look of hate towards Zaku that quickly turned to concern and nervousness.

"Don't worry… it'll hurt at first… but then, you won't feel anything at all… and finally, you'll go to hell… right where you belong for your sins against me…" muttered the Ronin to her.

"What did I ever do to you?!" she shouted at him.

"Narumi-chan… I'd love to tell you right now, but… the next match is starting. So… that complicates things…" replied the Ronin.

Sure enough, there were two names on the screen…

_**Uchiha Sasuke**_

_**Vs. **_

_**Tenten**_

"It had to happen some time…" Sasuke said to himself before putting his hand to his neck.

Tenten looked at Sasuke with a strange gleam in her eye…

"So I get to fight the cutie, huh?" she said to herself before jumping from the stands to the floor below.

"So, Narumi… after this, what do you think the chances are of us two fighting?" asked the Ronin, "Because… according to my calculations, there's a forty percent chance one of us will be picked and a twenty five percent chance that you'll be my opponent and vice-versa. I'm looking forwards to our match…"

As Sasuke walked down to the fighting area below, Narumi couldn't help but notice that Kakashi had stopped him and said something… "Sasuke, this may end up being a no-chakra match. We can't risk that seal… so if you lose control, I'll stop the match."

Sasuke's eyes widened in shock before his face quickly returned to a cold, emotionless mask. He nodded once before jumping down to meet his opponent.

Narumi took a step back before turning her gaze to the fight below… she'd worry about the Ronin later.

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End of chapter 8. There, this chapter is about a thousand words longer than the previous one.

If enough people review, not only will I show this match, but I'll also show the rest of the matches in my longest chapter yet! That means that we finally get to watch the Ronin fight!

But who shall be his opponent?

Kankuro, the puppeteer…

Hinata, the princess…

Narumi, the Kitsune…

Kiba, the wolf…

It's not going to be easy picking his match.

Also! You might have noticed this, but every single one of my chapters for this story has been released on a four-day. A day that the number four is visible on the calendar…

Four, fourteen, twenty-four… these are each four-days that the chapters for this store are released on. 'Why', you ask?

It's simple:

The number 4 is considered very unlucky by some Chinese cultures as it is associated with death.

In some Western cultures the number 4, however, is associated with creation and birth.

I feel this represents my story in a way so few people can understand…

Well, that's all I have time for, so… Sayonara!

_**Forever Signed in Blood, **_

_**Slayer End**_


	9. Angels of Death

_"But pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world." C.S. Lewis_

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Tenten was the first to attack when she threw several shuriken at Sasuke.

Sasuke cursed his luck and jumped to the left dodging all but one which scratched his arm.

"I take it you're a weapons specialist?" asked Sasuke.

"How'd you guess?" asked Tenten with a smirk even as she threw a pair of kunai at him.

Sasuke caught one of the kunai as he dodged by leaning backwards, "You're keeping your distance and your attacks have mostly involved throwing weapons at me." He scowled at this point, "Also… your aim is perfect. It's too perfect for you _not_ to be good at throwing kunai and shuriken alike."

Tenten almost grinned before she unleashed several kunai and shuriken at him, "Looks like you caught me… but you said it yourself. My aim is perfect. You won't be able to simply dodge forever…"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed even as he jumped backwards and kicked off the wall to jump over the weapons, rolling to Tenten's side and throwing a trio of shuriken at point blank, "I know…"

**22222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222**

"Neh-neh, why isn't he activating his Sharingan, Kakashi-sensei?" asked Narumi.

She felt her eyebrow tick when she saw that her sensei was reading a certain orange book… needless to say, Kakashi didn't reply to her question.

"It might have something to do with that seal." stated the cheerful voice of the Ronin.

Kakashi's visible eye widened comically as he almost dropped his book, "What the- How do you know about that?"

"I had a Kagebunshin follow almost every team in the forest… at least; I had them follow teams of interest." said the Ronin with a shrug, "One of them was lucky enough to come upon your team in the forest. I know everything that happened from start to finish…"

Kakashi scowled in his direction.

"Wait… you said something about a seal?" asked Narumi softly.

"Yup… see, it's a curse-seal and while it may hold benefits on certain occasions, generally… it's a very bad thing to have. It ultimately weakens whoever has it and can even impair their judgment, lock away kekkei-genkai, or simply erode the body from the inside out. If Uchiha-kun hasn't activated his Sharingan yet, the effects may be relative to the latter."

Narumi scowled, "So what you're saying is that Sasuke-teme can't activate his Sharingan because of this curse-thingy?"

"Very good! It appears that your purpose is far greater than being a dropout cheerleader. Hai, that _is_ how it works." replied the Ronin.

Narumi glared at him before she turned her attention back to the battle. She'd pay this jerk back later… and then some.

**22222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222**

Sasuke winced as he tried to use chakra to enhance his speed slightly and give him an edge in dodging the incoming weapons.

'_Alright… so I'm injured, can't use my Sharingan or any other jutsu, and I'm fighting a weapons specialist… I wanted a challenge by entering these exams? Well, I got one…_' he thought bitterly before scowling. '_This is just getting worse and worse…_'

His head went to the side just a little as a shuriken whizzed by, cutting his cheek.

'_I need to get in close and avoid those weapons… if I can do that, I might be able to beat her in a straight Taijutsu fight. Otherwise…_'

Tenten leaped over Sasuke and threw down several kunai attached to strings.

To Sasuke's ire, his arm was trapped in said wire and he could no longer move it.

His eyes widened when he realized he couldn't move his legs either…

"Kuso…" he swore under his breath.

"Looks like this match is mine." said Tenten with a smirk before she ran forwards to strike Sasuke and knock him out.

**22222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222**

'…_Hmm? What's this?_' thought the Ronin as he stared at the other side of the room at the jonin in the Oto uniform, said Jonin scowled even as he made a subtle hand gesture…

The Ronin smirked…

'_Well, well… Looks like Uchiha-kun can't lose quite yet… that wouldn't be good for you, would it, Hebi-kun?_'

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Sasuke looked at Tenten in something akin to fear. He couldn't lose yet! He had too much left to do. He _had_ to win this… but he couldn't let the Curse Seal take over. If that happened, he'd lose instantly.

Then he felt it… the pain in his neck was suddenly gone. It just _wasn't there_… He could _finally_ feel his chakra running through his system again. And _damn_ it felt good!

He smirked even as his Sharingan activated. This match… was over.

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Tenten ran at her target with the full intent of defeating Sasuke by knockout. One good hit was all she would need… Then it happened. Her hand as it went to punch Sasuke out… and rather than hitting skin it hit something else… She drew back and held her hand in slight pain.

It was like she had just punched a rock…

It was when the world around her seemed to melt and collapse that she realized what was going on.

"Kai!" she called, putting her hands into a ram seal.

The genjutsu dispelled and revealed that the 'Sasuke' she hit wasn't even there, she had hit a piece of debris suspended in the air by the wires tied in the rings of the kunai.

She scowled when she felt cold metal on her neck.

"I win." said Sasuke with a smirk.

"How did you do that?" she asked.

"It was simple, I activated my Sharingan and used the Kawarime no Jutsu. At the same time, I made eye-contact with you and put you in a genjutsu. This genjutsu made it seem like I had never moved while, in fact, I had actually gotten behind you." he explained.

"I see… but, I have one more question."

"And that is…?"

"Is that my kunai you're holding?" she questioned with a small smirk.

Warning bells suddenly went off in Sasuke's head when the kunai in his hand was pulled from his grasp by a shinobi wire and suddenly put in Tenten's hand. She leapt forwards with said kunai and Sasuke was quick to block it with one of his own.

They leapt back from each other.

"Around _all_ of my kunai, I have thin strings. To you, they're just about as noticeable as a spider's web. In fact, they look just like a spider's web. In reality, it's a string that I can call upon at any given time. With a tug in the right direction, I can whip about a dozen bladed weapons in _your_ direction."

Sasuke scowled.

'_This is bad… if my fight with Lee was any indication, I'm still not that good at predicting movement. Hopefully, I can try and fight her like I did with that Oi-nin (Hunter) in Nami no Kuni… maybe this time, with better results._' Sasuke thought to himself as he jumped away from the incoming weapons at every twist and turn.

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"His Sharingan activated!" Sakura almost shouted, "Now he's definitely going to win!"

"Don't be too sure… it doesn't look like his Sharingan is fully developed at this time." said the Ronin.

"What do you mean?" asked Sakura.

"The Sharingan has three tomoe in each eye. The first tomoe allows comprehension of Ninjutsu and minor comprehension of Genjutsu. The second Tomoe allows comprehension of Genjutsu and slight comprehension of movement. The third Tomoe allows total comprehension for Genjutsu, Taijutsu, and Ninjutsu. He only has two tomoe in each of his eyes. This means, by extension, that he lacks total comprehension of Taijutsu and movement necessary to avoid massive amounts of projectiles. Basically, as long as Tenten throws enough weapons, then it doesn't necessarily matter how good her aim is, one of them _will_ hit." explained Kakashi, "And when that happens, this match is just as likely going to end in her favor. Sasuke's been getting cut up since the beginning of this match and he's still tired from the forest. If he gets hit in the right place at this time… he won't be able to continue. If he doesn't end this quickly, Sasuke _will not win_."

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'_Thanks for the bode of confidence, Kakashi-sensei…_' Sasuke thought sarcastically as he dodged yet another kunai.

It was easier for him now that his Sharingan was activated, but Kakashi was right on all accounts. He was still tired as hell and while the weakening of the seal had helped significantly, he knew it wouldn't be enough to save him from defeat.

At this point, he was more likely to pass out from exhaustion than pain or injuries… fighting Tenten wasn't helping in his recovery either.

'_Win this match quickly? Ok… I can do that._'

Tenten smirked before she grabbed the scrolls on her sides.

"I was going to save this for later in these exams… but if I'm going to win, I guess I'll have to hit you as hard as I can." she said, "Besides, you think you're the only one who heard what our sensei's 'Eternal Rival' said? I only need one good hit. This should do the trick."

She began to run around him in circles, his Sharingan eyes tracking her every movement.

"What is she up to?" Sasuke growled softly.

Tenten leapt into the air with said scroll… and spun.

One by one, weapons unsealed themselves as they were thrown in Sasuke's direction. He swore and tried to escape.

Tenten smirked.

'_Now__ It's over…_' she thought even as she was returning to the earth…

Imagine her surprise when she saw what her weapons hit.

'…_That's the same hunk of rock from before! So where's-_'

She was cut off from her thoughts when Sasuke appeared behind her.

'_Kage Buyo (Leaf Shadow Dance)! That's Lee's Jutsu! So that means…_' Tenten thought frantically.

"It's no good; you can't turn your body while it's in the air like this." Sasuke said to her, "Now… take this!"

It started off with a devastating punch to her back, sending her down. Sasuke was quick to follow.

"Get back here! I'm not done yet!" he shouted as he struck Tenten in the chest with an his elbow.

He spun around just as she impacted the ground and hit her in the abdomen with a devastating kick.

"Shishi-Rendan (Lion's Barrage)!" he cried before jumping off of her and sliding back.

He fell to his knees, panting as he deactivated his Sharingan. At last, he smirked…

"I'm declaring this match over," began Hayate, "Victory goes to Uchiha Sasuke."

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"Well… I'm surprised and amazed at how he pulled _that_ one out of his ass." said the Ronin as he chuckled, "Also, that attack really devastated her both physically and mentally. Using her own teammate's attack against her… was brilliant!"

Narumi turned and glared at him.

"Nani? Your teammate won, why do you look so pissed off at me?" asked the Ronin.

"With how everything was going, I really thought he was going to lose!" Narumi shouted at him.

"I never said he'd lose, I just said he'd lose if he didn't activate his Sharingan. The Sharingan was activated, despite the seal, and thus, he won. No harm done… Though your sensei seems to disagree…" trailed the Ronin.

Narumi turned to the fighting area just in time to see Kakashi Shunshin out of the room with Sasuke. She scowled. Now he wouldn't be around for the last two fights!

"We will now give the last two names before the Battle Royale." said Hayate as the screen went through names and Tenten was carried away by a stretcher.

'_It seems that I was destined to be alone to have to listen to my sensei rant about youth… Tenten, Lee… I hate you both for abandoning me._' Neji thought to himself as he seemed to glare at Tenten.

The names flashed by on the screen and finally landed on two.

_**Inuzuka Kiba**_

_**Vs. **_

_**Uzumaki Narumi**_

Narumi's eyes glowed happily. It wasn't because she was next… rather; it was because of _who_ her opponent was. Her eyes shifted slightly to the side to gaze at the Ronin before they narrowed into a glare. She jumped down into the fighting area.

"Alright, dog-breath! You're going down!" she shouted at Kiba when he finally came down in front of her.

"So, it's me against the dead-last? This'll be fast!" Kiba returned.

"Don't count on it!"

"Are both fighters ready?" asked Hayate.

"Hell yeah!" came the response from both genin.

"Then… Hajime!" Hayate declared.

Thus began round Nine of the Chunin Exams Preliminary fights…

Kiba took his puppy, Akamaru, out of his sweatshirt and placed him on the ground.

"Huh? What's with the puppy?! Put that thing back up there! He'll just get in the way, Kiba!" called Narumi from the opposite end of the fighting area.

"Screw you! I never go into battle without Akamaru by my side!"

"Hey, proctor-guy! Isn't that against the rules?! I mean, it's a dog, right?!" Narumi said to Hayate.

Hayate gave her a dull stare before saying, "No. It isn't against the rules for, like Shino's bugs, that dog is a part of him and is, thus, a shinobi tool."

Narumi seemed to scoff, "Alright, dog-breath. I do some of my best work with a handicap!"

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"So… _arrogant_!" the Ronin said under his breath, muttering the word arrogant as though it were a curse, "What makes matters worse is the full knowledge that this blonde bimbo down there is going to win…"

Kurenai turned her head at him immediately, "Look, I don't care who you are. But there's no way I'm going to let you insult my student by even _suggesting_ that Narumi has a chance. Kiba is more than enough of a match for her…"

"No, he isn't. He's going to lose… it will appear close, but he'll still lose. I can guarantee that much." said the Ronin as he shook his head, "Now, don't get me wrong. I hate that girl with an _unholy_ passion. But, I can't deny the unbiased facts. She is going to win."

Kurenai seemed to glare at him before she looked back at the fight. Kiba wasn't going to lose… she was certain of that much.

The Ronin meanwhile looked towards Hinata who was pressing her fingers together nervously.

'_I'd like to cheer for Narumi-chan… But I'm on Kiba's team. So he might get mad… oh, what should I do?_'

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'_This should be a snap! This dumb blonde doesn't have anything on me, she was the dobe for a reason, anyway!_' thought Kiba to himself.

(_Flashback_)

"Alright class, today we'll be practicing the Henge no Jutsu. Narumi, why don't you come up first since you're _so_ far ahead of everyone else, you have the right to sleep." said Iruka sarcastically.

Narumi got up and ran from her seat all the way to the front.

"Now, Henge into the Sandaime for us, won't you?" prodded Iruka.

Narumi nodded and put her hands together…

"Henge!" there was a massive burst of smoke and suddenly there stood a particularly bad copy of the Sandaime.

Kiba woke up to the sound of the class bursting into laughter.

"Geeze… could you be any louder?" he asked, "I was sleeping too…"

"Hey- Hey, this Narumi girl is funny!" said one of the kids sitting next to Kiba.

"Yeah, you gotta watch this, man!" whispered another.

"Huh? The new girl?" asked Kiba, "I thought boys were only allowed in this class."

"The Hokage himself made an exception for this girl, here… see, she wasn't doing well in the other class and hated it. So, during her second year here, she was transferred." said Shikamaru, "It's troublesome having a girl in the class… but, I heard it from one of my parents, so there's no getting out of it."

Kiba shrugged and turned his gaze to Narumi.

The Henge, if you could call it that, dispelled. Narumi stood there scratching the back of her head with a grin on her face.

"Honestly…" trailed Iruka, "Narumi, this is your third year at the academy! Do it again, Baka!"

"Hai, hai… I was just kidding…" she trailed, "Now…" she put her hands into the seal, "Henge!"

There was another burst of smoke…

And another terrible copy of the Sandaime stood there in her place. No… terrible didn't quite cut it. The previous one was terrible, but this one… this one was even _worse_.

"You…" trailed Iruka disbelievingly with a look of astonishment on his face, "Can it be…?"

'_Seriously?! She's been here for three years and still can't do a good Henge?! What a loser!_' Kiba thought to himself.

(_End Flashback_)

"Then… Please begin." said Hayate before jumping away from the area.

"Shikyaku no Jutsu (Ninja Art of Beast Mimicry: All-Fours Jutsu)!" shouted Kiba before he went down on all fours, "Here I come…" he trailed before rushing forwards.

'_Fast!_' thought Narumi to herself before she leaned back to avoid the punch.

It took a second for a few people to notice while the rest didn't even see it… but in particular, a single Ronin saw it…

Suddenly, Kiba swept her feet out from under her and delivered a devastating punch that flew her backwards and across the tiles.

"She won't be getting up for a while, Referee." said Kiba with a smirk.

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"Hmph, I told you Kiba wouldn't lose." said Kurenai to the Ronin.

"You mean you didn't see it? You didn't see how she dodged that first attack?" asked the Ronin.

"What do you mean?" returned Kurenai with confusion on her face.

"Some jonin you are to not have noticed that Narumi-san down there was able to bend backwards to dodge that attack."

"Everyone saw that." said Shikamaru.

"Oh, hai, everyone saw her bend backwards to dodge that… but did anyone see how perfectly it was done? She bent backwards in a perfect ninety degree angle on a dime to dodge that attack. Her reaction time was a little slow afterwards, but I'm certain that this match it all hers." said the Ronin with crossed arms.

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Narumi slowly got up from the ground.

"Nani?" asked Kiba, mostly to himself before he looked at Narumi.

Narumi stood there and suddenly glared at Kiba, "Don't… underestimate me!"

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"Go! Take him down Narumi!" shouted Sakura.

The Ronin was quiet, however.

'_There… isn't a scratch on her? Her skin is totally unharmed. What is this?_' he thought silently, "Hatake-san, would you kindly riddle me this to the subject of how your student is unharmed?" he asked Kakashi.

"No." was Kakashi's simple reply.

The Ronin scowled behind his mask before muttering 'Jerk' and turning away to gaze down at the fight.

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"You were just beaten down to the ground and now you're telling me not to underestimate you?!" he shouted, "Damn it all! Quit acting tough already!"

Akamaru barked twice as though to confirm it.

"I let you hit me… so I could see how strong you were…" trailed Narumi, "You might want to use Akamaru if you want to win."

Although she grinned as she said it, Kiba knew she meant what she said. She really thought that he couldn't hit that hard? She really thought he was weak?! The dead last thought he was weak?!

'_Hell no!_' thought Kiba to himself, "You'll regret that!" he shouted before he ran forwards again, "Let's go, Akamaru!"

The dog rushed in with his master before Kiba dropped a smoke bomb.

"Kuso!" hissed Narumi.

The entire arena was suddenly covered in a cloud of dark colored smoke. She stood still in the dark smoke, blind as a bat.

'_This is… this is just like that time with Zabuza! His Kirigakure no Jutsu (Hidden Mist Technique)._' she thought, '_But there's no way Kiba knows how to go around silently. That means… if I can hear him… I can fight him!_'

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The Ronin's eyes narrowed, '_That girl… she's different than she appears. There's no way that she's as stupid as she normally acts, if she was she'd have gotten out of the smoke. By doing so, he'd be able to attack her and make the situation possibly worse. But… she has yet to emerge from the smoke. Unless she's cowering in fear, I'm pretty sure that she's got the situation covered. Kiba… you're in for a world of hurt._'

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"Alright, Akamaru, if she won't come out for us, we'll have to go in for her!" said Kiba.

Akamaru barked once and jumped into the smoke, Kiba followed. Then he started to sniff… he smelled at the air around him as he tried to get Narumi's scent, the one thing he knew he could track.

"Heh… gotcha!" said Kiba before he punched something…

It wasn't Narumi, but it sounded like her and felt like her… it even smelled like her. But he knew it wasn't her because immediately after hitting it, the clone burst into smoke.

"What the- Her scent… it's everywhere?!" Kiba hissed and started spinning around in all directions, searching…

The smoke cleared and suddenly… suddenly Kiba realized he was about as screwed as a pooch. All around him was a sea of orange clones. Narumi was literally everywhere.

One of them smirked, "This is for underestimating me!" she shouted before the clones ran forwards.

Kiba however did something she didn't expect at that moment…

He took out a small pill and threw it to Akamaru.

The clones were four steps away from destroying him…

Akamaru's fur darkened in color as chakra swirled around him.

Three steps from death…

Akamaru barked twice and Kiba shouted, "Jujin Bunshin no Jutsu (Man-Beast Clone)!"

Two steps…

Smoke surrounded the two figures of Kiba and Akamaru before there was yet another cry of, "Gatsuga (Fang over Fang)!"

One step…

A pair of destructive tornadoes suddenly tore through all the clones. Both of them spun around in the air, before heading for Narumi herself.

She was quick to jump out of the way of the first one, but the second struck her… hard. She flew off spinning before colliding with the ground.

Both of the tornadoes stopped and stood on there on the other side of the fighting area, just looking at Narumi. Both of them were giving fanged grins…

"_Now_ you can call it. She's not getting up." said Kiba.

His grin faded when he heard something coming from the direction he had just sent Narumi. He heard her getting up, he heard her moving pieces of the tiles away so she could stand… but what he heard that chilled him to the bone were two words…

"That's it?" she asked him as she stood there.

She stood there… without a single scratch on her…

"How the hell aren't you hurt?! Nothing?! Not even a bruise?! That's just not human!" shouted Kiba at her.

"After a bad accident when I was five, I got this ability. My skin absorbs force that is sent into it then it gives me the ability to release an equal amount of force. By doing nothing at all, by standing still, I gain the ability to get stronger because now I use what you hit me with to actually power my attacks!" she exclaimed.

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The Ronin stared down at her before he said something, "Newton's Laws…" he simply trailed.

The shinobi around him gave him questioning glances.

"Sir Isaac Newton… countless years ago there was a man who discovered gravity when an apple fell on his head. He made three laws pertaining to gravity… later, these three laws applied to all types of motion. The first law was Inertia. An object at rest tends to stay at rest unless acted upon by an outside force. Likewise, an object in motion tends to stay in motion unless acted upon by an outside force. Her abilities are just like that. When at rest, her strength is put into motion by an outside force, Kiba in this case. When she's moving, then by going faster she gains more strength. If she comes to a sudden stop, she gains more strength. Basically, if her speed changes because of the enemy, or if they hit her, she just gets stronger. Her durability to those blunt attacks of punching, however, is also simple. The force exerted on her is dispersed throughout her entire body resulting in no damage. That force then powers her other attacks." said the Ronin, "There's more. Her flexibility and durability work hand in hand. Her abilities enable her to draw out a fight for a long period of time and remove all the effectiveness of Taijutsu in a single go. She can literally outlast _anyone_ in a fight. At least, unless they can use a bladed weapon… her skin wouldn't be able to take that kind of hit and not bleed."

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"He's right." said Narumi to Kiba, "Unless you come at me with some kind of bladed weapon, I'll be fine."

Kiba and Akamaru both smirked as they took out a pair of kunai each, both of them holding pairs…

"Gatsuga!" shouted Kiba as he and Akamaru once again turned into spinning tornadoes of destruction.

Narumi bit her thumb and wiped it across her left arm, her eyes hardened, "I win…" she said before smoke burst from her left arm…

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The Ronin's eyes widened in shock.

"No… just… no way… she's holding… the Tenshi no Shi (Angel of Death)." he said in total awe.

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A long, beautiful katana was now held in Narumi's right hand.

It had a black hilt and a totally white blade. A white ribbon was tied around the handle of the blade and a single strip of ribbon came off the end of the handle. Along the blade were the shining blue Kanji for 'Tenshi no Shi'.

She brought up the sword and slashed down just as the four kunai could be seen. For a second, nobody moved, they could all see Kiba and Akamaru's kunai that were stuck on the blade and not moving an inch. Then suddenly… they were flung apart.

Kiba to the left, Akamaru to the left… their respective jutsu dispelled and they were on the ground with Akamaru out like a light. Narumi stood there with a smirk on her face before her sword disappeared in a burst of smoke.

"See… I'd been hit so many times, that I had enough force so that I could have literally finished this if I punched you. But, you brought out the kunai… so I brought out the sword." she said with a shrug.

"D-Damn it…" trailed Kiba before he passed out.

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"Where?" asked the Ronin, "Now I need to know. Where did she get that sword? That sword is part of a set… a pair of blades. Both of them belonged to a Samurai Clan I knew _very_ well before its extinction at the hands of the Kaguya Clan. One disappeared, but… the other was sold. Who gave her that sword?" he questioned.

"I did." said Kakashi, "It was her seventh birthday present and at the time I was one of the ANBU who watched her and made sure she didn't get into trouble. I'd seen her using a stick and practicing some forms she had made up. I just bought the cheapest sword I could find… or at least, I tried." he said this part with a shrug, "There were no cheap swords in Konoha, and that night I was sort of depressed. I went out and decided to gamble some money on a poker game and the other guy ran out of money so he wagered that sword. I got lucky and was able to give her that sword the next morning. It was late... but, I got it to her, and it's the thought that counts, in the end."

The Ronin turned and glared at Narumi.

"Yeah… when I fight her, I'm going to break that sword in half and kill her. No hard feelings?" he asked Kakashi nonchalantly.

Kakashi's visible eye narrowed.

"Hmm… wait a second. Just wait a second here… There are only three people left. That means it's time for the battle Royale! The inescapable death match! Hell yeah!" he almost yelled, "Time to kill somebody!"

He jumped down to the arena just as Narumi made it to the stairs and Kiba and Akamaru were carried away in stretchers. Hayate stood there with a paper in hand.

"I will now be announcing the rules!" he said, "Unlike the other matches, this fight determines the winner to be the last one standing. Also, outside interference is not permitted, meaning, casualties are possibly unavoidable. This fight will be fought between the following:

"Sabaku no Kankuro (Kankuro of the Desert)!" at this Kankuro walked down the stairs and into the fighting area…

"Hyuga Hinata!" the shy girl walked down and stood in the arena.

"And… Uzumaki Naruto…?!" he trailed shocked.

The Ronin reached up with his bandaged hand and pulled off his mask to reveal a face…

Three whisker marks on both cheeks. One blue eye… one green eye… his hair was blond with red highlights. His skin was the same shade as Narumi's… there was no mistaking it; they were related, somehow…

"Let there be blood, Dattebayo!" he finally shouted out for all in the area to hear, and then he began to laugh.

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End of Chapter 9:

First off, a big thank you to ChaosLord SilverLink310 for being my 100th Reviewer! Woohoo!

My longest chapter yet and it's just short of being 6000 words! The rest so far haven't even been a _third_ that length. So be thankful! On a side note…

Holy crap, Naruto's out to play. This'll be fun, neh?

Next time, it's the final match of the Chunin Exam Preliminaries and Naruto's out for blood, his mask gone and all now know who he is. Or, they think they do…

Who will win?

…The Puppeteer?

…The Princess?

…Or the Pillager?

Only one way to find out!

Review!

Until next time…

_**Forever Signed in Blood, **_

_**Slayer End**_


	10. Demons of God

_"I'd like to play a game..." Jigsaw, 'Saw' Series_

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"Let there be blood, Dattebayo!" he finally shouted out for all in the area to hear.

"There's… no way…" trailed Narumi, shocked beyond belief.

"Kami! You people have no idea how long I was wearing that mask! It was getting so… irritating!" hissed Naruto, the Ronin.

"Who are you, really?!" demanded the Hokage.

"Ah… But Hokage-sama, I assure you that I do not lie when I tell you my name is Uzumaki Naruto. It always has been Uzumaki Naruto and it shall stay Uzumaki Naruto… My, my… you people look like you're staring at some kind of ghost!" he yelled all around with a sick grin on his face, "Oh, but I assure you that, unfortunately, I'm _very_ much so alive… Oh… So…_Alive_…" he almost seemed to hiss the last part as he clenched his hands tightly, his teeth gritted… suddenly, his face turned cheerful with a smile that was once believed to only be able to be performed by Uzumaki Narumi, "Now… proctor? Referee? Whichever one you want to be called… I need you to call the beginning of this match. I want to kill at least _somebody_ today."

Hayate looked towards the Hokage who sat in his chair, holding his chin in thought. After a moment, the Hokage nodded towards Hayate. He knew what that meant…

"Let the tenth and final match of the Chunin Exam Preliminaries… begin." said Hayate before jumping away.

None of the three did anything for a minute. They simply stood there. That is… until Naruto brought up his left hand into a seal.

"Kagebunshin no Jutsu…" he trailed.

There were two puffs of smoke as a pair of clones appeared right next to Naruto. The clones ran towards Kankuro while Naruto ran at Hinata.

"Byakugan!" called Hinata under her breath before she looked at Naruto.

Her eyes widened.

'_His right arm! It's… That chakra is so… wrong! That's just not right! There's no Chakra Network! No Tenketsu in his right arm! What is he?!_' she thought frantically.

Naruto brought back his right arm and shot it forwards to punch her…

(_Flashback_)

Narumi was white as a sheet and staring at him with mismatched eyes…

"Ah, yes… but you asked me how I knew? Miss, my right arm has the durability to punch through a wall of diamonds… in one shot. Unless he can somehow counteract that, then I highly doubt that I wouldn't be able to rip out his heart, smash it in my hand, then walk away without a care in the world."

(_End Flashback_)

'_No!_' she thought to herself before she rolled out of the way of the punch.

His right arm pierced the ground up to his elbow and created a small crater around it. Naruto lifted it out of the ground before clenching and unclenching his hand.

"Oh…? Looks like I missed. I guess I'll have to try again…" he trailed before he charged Hinata again.

Kankuro's eyes widened at the small hole left in the ground.

'_I can't get hit by that either!_' he thought before jumping back from the first clone when it used its right arm to try and perform a haymaker.

The other clone jumped from its shoulders and attempted to punch Kankuro through the skull. Kankuro was quick to jump back and avoid his death at all costs.

"Suna-nin-san, please try not to be afraid. We're just going to kill you." spoke the two clones.

One of them seemed to pause in thought.

"Wait… I see the puppet, but where's the puppeteer?" it asked.

The other caught on, "Perhaps in those bandages?"

They both gained crazed looks in their eyes as they jumped at the bandaged area. Quickly, the bandages removed themselves and Kankuro leaped out of the way just as his puppet dropped its disguise and stabbed both the clones through their heads. Blood seemed to leak out of their eyes before they vanished in blasts of smoke.

'_Those clones… they bled. That means that they could have lasted a much longer period of time and could have even suffered a few cuts and punches before they'd be dispelled. That's not good… If I hadn't struck them in the heads like that, I'd have been overwhelmed…_' thought Kankuro as he looked at his puppet.

His gaze turned to Hinata.

'_If this guy was able to wipe out the Zodiac, there's no way that the two of us could ever beat him alone… but maybe if we work together…_'

"Oi! Hyuga-san, a temporary truce?!" called Kankuro to Hinata, "This guy is good… a little _too_ good!"

Hinata took all of three seconds to jump back from Naruto and right next to Kankuro.

"Well… looks like I'm not facing a couple of idiots after all… you recognized me as a threat and, like shinobi who share a common goal and meet on missions, decided to unify against me. I'm honored…" Naruto trailed sarcastically.

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Kakashi stared down at Naruto as he watched his every move.

There was no way… he had seen it. He had heard the order. This kid… was dead. He was dead! So how the hell was he standing right there in perfect health? How did he walk, run, speak… why wasn't he dead!

"K-Kakashi-sensei… If I had a family, you would tell me… wouldn't you?" asked Narumi.

Kakashi continued to stare at the Ronin.

"Sensei?" she asked quietly.

"Narumi-chan… some things… are better left buried…" Kakashi said quietly.

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"You know what… you've done so well against me, that I'll show you the technique that will make you beg for death…" spoke Naruto.

His lifted his right arm in front of him and snapped his fingers… Then all at once, five holes appeared. There were two on the ground in front of Kankuro and Hinata. There was one in Kankuro's puppet… one in the wall behind them, and one in Kankuro's leg.

"What the hell?!" Kankuro hissed as he fell to his knee.

"Oh darn… I missed." spoke Naruto, "You two don't waste energy so that makes my technique a tad less effective, I suppose…"

"E-Energy?" asked Hinata, "What kind of e-energy?"

"Well… when somebody has poor chakra control, what happens to the chakra they waste? I'll tell you what. It disperses into the air around us. My arm has the ability to devour that chakra that hasn't been used in a technique and then it turns into fuel for me. I call this ability the Hekiken (Pierce Sword/Fist) because when I snap my fingers, I use some of this energy to home in on those who used it. Then this energy pierces everything in its path to strike where it truly originated. In a field with nothing to stop it, this attack can continue forwards for over a thousand meters. However, if objects impede its path, then it begins to vary.

"Only those who have flawless chakra control have a hope of counteracting this technique. Together, you have the ability to not only throw off my aim, but also to defeat my attack. This whole thing can be ruined by once again being dispersed into the air if it's caught and turned into a chakra thread like the kind used for puppets. Or a Jyuuken strike in the right place can instantly stop it. Lucky you, but there are only so many jutsu that you can perform that don't waste chakra when your leg is damaged… in the end, my attack served its purpose." explained Naruto.

"Kuso… he's right." hissed Kankuro, "But I can still move my fingers… Hyuga-san, you're going to have to attack him while I use my puppet to distract him."

Hinata seemed to appear nervous for a second before she nodded and got up from the ground. She charged Naruto while Kankuro's puppet came at him from behind.

"Battle strategies… nice." spoke Naruto quietly, "But it won't be enough."

As though to prove it he made a single hand seal with his left hand and called out, "Taijuu Kagebunshin no Jutsu (Mass Shadow Clone Technique)!"

The entire area was flooded with Naruto copies that each suddenly jumped high into the air. Every single one called out a single word…

"Henge!"

And they all disappeared in bursts of smoke. Then, swords and shuriken and kunai of every shape and size descended from the white clouds formed above them all.

Kankuro's puppet was rushed over to protect him from the hail of blades while Hinata… Hinata began to spin.

"Shugohakke Rokujūyon Shō (Protection of the Eight Trigrams Sixty Four Palms)!" she shouted.

The blades fell and embedded themselves in a circle around them both. It was like a giant field of sharp, metal objects. Metal that wreaked of death… metal that begged for blood…

"Eenie meanie minie my… I punched your mother in the eye, what color was the blood? Eenie… meanie… minie… my…" trailed Naruto's voice before one of the blades next to Hinata disappeared in a burst of smoke and Naruto rushed from it, holding one of the fallen swords.

Hinata spun to meet him and struck this Naruto straight through the heart, blood spattered from its back before it dispelled. The sword suddenly vanished in a burst of smoke to reveal Naruto as well, bringing down his right arm to strike and kill Hinata.

She dodged it and jumped over this Naruto before slamming into his back with her feet. He was knocked towards the blades and struck them, bleeding and screaming before he dispelled.

Hinata landed on her two feet panting.

Some may have attributed it to exhaustion… but to those who knew her, she was facing fear. True fear…

"Hyuga-san! I'll clear a path so you can try and get over here!" called Kankuro from the other side of the area.

He picked around in his kunai pouch before finding what he needed. And so he threw a kunai with an explosive tag on it right in the center of the area between him and Hinata.

It sizzled for a few seconds before finally detonating, dispelling several of the weapons and creating a deep crater.

And suddenly there was a path they could follow. As Kankuro threw the shuriken and kunai off of his puppet, he hobbled to the area in the center of the crater. Hinata was already there.

"Mary had a little lamb whose fleece was white as snow. The organs were red and the meat was tasty. I like colors…" trailed Naruto's voice from somewhere in the field of metal death.

"What the _fuck_…?!" trailed Kankuro, "This guy's messed up!"

There were four blasts of smoke before four clones jumped from each corner of the crater. Then, above them, they threw down several kunai. All of which dispelled mid-air to reveal more clones…

Kankuro's puppet met the attack by opening up and firing several kunai at them. One after another, the clones dispelled mid-air and soon, none were left.

Then they waited…

"Tell me… riddle me this… what was the first thing you saw when you were born?" asked Naruto's voice as more clones dispelled their Henge and jumped down only to meet death by Hinata's Jyuuken strikes.

"It's a simple… honest question that I want an answer to. What was the first thing you saw when you were born? Most likely the caring eyes of your mother… Or perhaps the proud eyes of your father? Do you want to know what I saw? Do you?!" shouted Naruto.

Ten more clones dispelled their Henge and each grabbed a sword available before jumping into the crater. They surrounded Kankuro and Hinata before charging.

Kankuro's puppet did little more than rush forwards and slash randomly at the screaming clones. And with each fallen clone, their swords turned into another to be killed. Each one of these horrible clones died… screaming so loudly. They could feel the clones' blood fall on them then dispel when that clone died…

"I was nowhere near as lucky… For the first thing I saw was the unforgiving ceiling of the morgue. Oh how I remember it well… on the day of the Kyuubi attack, the Kyuubi's chakra swept through the entire village. The hospital was one of the first buildings hit… and when it was, I was affected horribly… My heart stopped, my lungs ceased functioning… and I was dead. My body was taken to the morgue to be held there until there could be a funeral… there was none for I woke before my wake. Ironic, neh? When the Kyuubi's chakra swept through the village a final time, there was death in that energy. Pure death… My body was able to recognize some of the energies and I woke up… no, I was given life in a freak accident! But… but something has bothered me for a while now… I keep seeing things… It took me a while to realize it, but I have a sister! Hah! Funny, huh? I have a sister that was allowed to live!" shouted Naruto.

All the weapons dispelled their Henge and stood before swarming the pit.

"WHY?! WHY DID SHE LIVE?!" he shouted somewhere among the clones.

The clones were everywhere around them. One by one, row after row, column after column… They charged and surged forwards wave after wave. And with each passing wave, there were cries of agony. It lasted all of five minutes…

There were no more clones. Kankuro and Hinata stood there panting from exhaustion. And then he appeared as he pulled off a sheet that covered him from view.

"Ta da… A simple, E-Rank jutsu taken to a new level… I used that sheet to cover me visibly and all of the clones took your attention from me. So tell me about my sister. How should I kill her?" he asked as he walked over to them calmly.

He bit his left thumb and wiped it across the bandages of his right hand when there was suddenly a burst of smoke. There in his hand… he held a sword. A sword that looked just like the Tenshi no Shi with its colors inverted.

"This is the second blade in the set of two. This is the Oni no Kami (Demon of God). And this blade will kill one of you…" trailed Naruto as the thin, black ribbon on the sword fluttered behind him.

He walked to the fallen form of Kankuro who remained on his knees… unable to move. It was so fast… Naruto walked towards Kankuro then… in a shadow of a blur, he stepped _through_ him. His sword was still held in his left hand… then there was the sound of something dripping…

Small scrapes, little cuts, and massive gashes appeared all over Kankuro's body. Naruto's right hand suddenly grabbed Kankuro's head.

"I'd find no pleasure in squishing your head to nothing with my hand… So I'll just use another property of my arm instead…" Naruto spoke with a twisted grin, "I hit all of your vitals in that shot. But the beauty of my blade is that no matter where I strike you, it will take longer for you to die. I predict you would have been alive for an agonizing six minutes… but now…" sparks of several colors seemed to flow around Naruto's hand before suddenly, Kankuro exploded in a mess of blood.

It showered the small area around Naruto and caked the ground beneath him with the puppeteer's blood.

"I call that technique the Shiken (Death Sword/Fist). By grabbing onto a target's head, I have the ability to send chakra from this arm into their nervous system to alter the flow of chakra in their body so drastically, that it pulverizes their bodies to death. It is the glorious ability of death's right hand… After all, when one brings the right arm of the Shinigami into play, you can be certain that death will follow. It's just that simple…"

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"Kankuro!" shouted Temari as her eyes welled up in tears.

Her brother… her little brother was dead, and there was nothing she could do about it. She was a kunoichi, a female ninja. She had been trained that death was to be expected at every corner. She knew that shinobi and kunoichi alike would go into the field and die. Thousands of ninja every year would die no matter what. They would almost always ultimately kill each other…

But the way he had died was just wrong. It was just so… _wrong_… there was no other word to use. The hopelessness in Kankuro's eyes, the pain he obviously felt, the amount of blood that came from him… even when Gaara had one of his episodes, the sand always absorbed the blood. But now she could see… she could see a horrible monster down there just waiting to be unleashed… and this wasn't even the beginning.

This monster had killed her little brother… in the most inhumane way possible. It was like watching him die twice. His knowledge that he would die then his sudden destruction… It was merciless and she hated it.

"You bastard!" she shouted, "You monster! You killed him! You killed Kankuro!" she cried at him.

He turned his gaze to her and grinned before asking a question that chilled her to the bone…

"…_So, what?" _

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Hinata stared at the blood that coated the area around them. That covered everything. And then she saw his put away his sword.

"You… I won't need my sword for this." spoke Naruto in a bored tone… it was like he was almost whining, "And I was really hoping to chop off your head too…"

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"Hinata!" screamed Kurenai before she tried to jump over the railing.

Key word: _Tried_…

Kakashi and Asuma held her back from jumping over the railing.

"Let go of me! He's going to kill her!" shouted Kurenai.

"Kurenai!" spoke Kakashi harshly, "If you go down there after Hayate clearly said 'no interference' what do you think could happen?! We'll be looking at an international incident! That's something we cannot allow!"

"Hinata-chan!" cried Narumi and several others in the stands.

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"Hear that? Those maggots up there are crying for me to spare your life. I honestly think that I can hear a few of them telling you to run!" Naruto laughed out before scowling and glaring at Hinata with a snarl on his lips, "Pathetic!" he spat out.

He walked over to her and brought up his right arm before sending it down in a vicious punch…

When just as suddenly, Hinata brought up her palm and struck the hand, stopping it. Blood began to leak out of the bandages on Naruto's right arm.

"Gah! What the hell did you just do?! My right arm… This is the Shinigami's right arm! How the hell did you damage the Shinigami's right arm?!" shouted Naruto.

"That arm has to store energy s-somewhere… It was only when I realized that y-your right arm is actually one big t-tenketsu. And if I hit it… it would be destroyed." she took a deep breath; "Now you have lost!" spoke Hinata with total certainty.

For a moment, there was total silence. Naruto turned his head towards the fallen puppet that once was Kankuro's then back to Hinata. To the sheer surprise of all around, he smiled and began to laugh.

"You just don't get it… do you?" asked Naruto as _something_ slowly filled up the bandages again.

In mere moments, his right arm had been restored as though it was never damaged in the first place. The whole process took about thirty seconds.

"I admit," he said as he chuckled, "I didn't think it was possible for my right arm to ever be damaged. But, I suppose that I can be incorrect too… however, with a healing factor like this? I've had my head chopped off only to regenerate in seconds after the fact. This? This is nothing. Yet I can't help but feel amazed at your accomplishment. Seeing as this is the right arm of the Shinigami, it has total sealing powers. It has sealing powers so great, that it can even seal away the mighty Kyuubi no Kitsune forever. It can literally seal anything into a container suitable enough… I call it the Reiken (Ghost Sword/Fist) because it can tear out people's souls. So…"

Naruto brought up his right arm as it began to glow. It was glowing purple and red… and then it plunged into Hinata's body before pulling something out. Something bright and white… It looked just like Hinata but the people around could see straight through it…

"This is your soul and mind… that will be your new body…" trailed Naruto before he slammed this spectral Hinata into Kankuro's puppet.

Hinata's eyes took on a vacant look and she collapsed to the floor. Naruto slowly walked over to the corner of the fighting area and grabbed something he had discarded at the beginning of the fight… his mask. He slowly put it back onto his face.

"Always smiling… all the time…" muttered Naruto, "He never frowns during his rhyme…"

"I declare this match over. Uzumaki Naruto has won." spoke Hayate.

Kurenai finally jumped over the railing and ran over to Hinata's body.

"Hinata! Speak to me, Hinata!" Kurenai shouted frantically.

"Why are you talking to that body, it's not the one that holds her soul and mind anymore…" trailed Naruto.

"Who the hell do you think you are to tell me who's Hinata and who isn't?!" shouted Kurenai at Naruto.

"Me? Well… I'm just a helpless Ronin. So what do I know?" spoke Naruto, "But if it helps, my _theory_ as an _inferior_ Ronin is that Hyuga-chan's body will not wake up until I've been killed. The most that body will do is breath through an air tube, actually… that is, until I've died."

"You… You bastard!" cried out Kurenai.

"I'll have you know that unlike my misguided whore of a sister, I'm fully aware of whom my father was." said Naruto with a smirk, "But, if you must know… my father was a _real_ bastard. Never knew his parents… pity. I'm glad he's dead. Mom…? Not so much… Now if that bitch were alive, I'd have a few choice words with her… but I can't, so: Oh well…"

Kurenai either didn't care or didn't bother to listen to him as she hugged Hinata's unconscious body close to herself, tears falling down her cheeks.

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Naruto stared at the two of them. He simply gave them an empty stare through his mask… this… reminded him of something…

(_Flashback_)

"Naruto! Run Naruto!" shouted a voice in the fires.

"Kaa-san! (Mother) Kaa-san!" cried Naruto as he crawled out with his injured body.

His right arm was gone from his five-year-old body and he was slowly bleeding to death. Then he felt it… he felt the pain all over his body. He felt the countless, invisible blows all over his body… oh how they hurt.

"KAA-SAN!"

"There he is!" shouted a man with a blank mask.

"Quickly, we can't have any witnesses!" shouted another.

They closed in on him…

(_End Flashback_)

He shuddered. Those thoughts… bad thoughts… he couldn't think of her. Not at a time like this… It was nothing like that anyway… right…?

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Hayate looked to each of the remaining genin before he spoke, "To all of you who won the rights to compete in the third round of the Chunin Exams -_Cough_- one of you is missing, but… Congratulations!"

"Sensei…?" prodded Sakura to Kakashi, "There was something I wanted to ask you…"

"…Is it about Sasuke?" asked Kakashi, he didn't wait for an answer, "Who knows… I'm sorry to say that even I don't know all that much about him right now. Well don't worry too much…"

Naruto stared up at Kakashi for a moment with narrowed eyes.

"Sakura, I have to leave for a moment so be sure to listen to what the instructions are for the Finals." said Kakashi before vanishing in a burst of smoke.

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'_I remember there being a little story that my Kaa-san would tell me… she would tell me of how the tiger found me and left me in the woods. She would tell me of all the countries of the world… of their economy and how they worked. They were merchants; after all… that was what they needed to know… But there was one story in particular that has always bothered me. No… not as much the story as the phrase at the end: And they all lived happily ever after… There's no such thing in the world of shinobi. Not even in our dreams… These genin around me haven't quite learned that. So I'll have to take it upon myself to educate them._' thought Naruto with a twisted grin as he listened to the Hokage explain the rules for the finals.

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Temari glared at Naruto from where she stood.

He killed Kankuro… so she would kill him! It wouldn't bring Kankuro, her little brother back, but damn it that would satisfy her! He needed to die for what he did!

Gaara simply stared at Naruto with his sea-green, raccoon-like eyes.

'_He… killed Kankuro? He killed that Baka? Did he do it to satisfy himself? Why did he do it?_' thought Gaara to himself.

He suddenly felt a headache before he shook his head and dropped the subject. Mother didn't like this 'Naruto' person… Mother wanted him dead. So, Gaara would kill him… eventually.

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The Oto-team stared at Naruto.

'_This guy's insane… he wants to kill me…_' Kin thought with fear.

'_That Kankuro guy… he just destroyed him… by grabbing his head. That's it. All he has to do is grab some person's head and he can make them explode. That's nuts…_' Zaku thought to himself with wide eyes.

The only one of the three who held a smirk was Dosu as he looked at Naruto with his one, good eye.

'_Orochimaru-sama… he betrayed us and sent us out there to be guinea pigs. And after watching your display of strength, I think we can conclude that you are a far superior ally than Orochimaru ever was… Naruto-sama…_'

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Narumi stared hard at Naruto for a few moments as the Hokage explained the rules.

'_Why… why do you want to kill me? Who are you, really? And Hinata… you put her into a coma and… oh Kami, you sealed her soul and mind into some metal and wooden doll. You're sick… and what makes this worse, is the fact that I don't know if I can beat you…_' She bit her bottom lip. '_And then there's that Gaara kid… He hurt Lee, and this Naruto person hurt Hinata. They were my friends…_'

Her eyes hardened suddenly.

'_I'm not going to let that go…_'

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"…The Prelims have ended and they will soon begin the Finals." ended Kabuto to Orochimaru, even as he stood there wearing the garb of an Oto-jonin, "On a side note… it's become rather serene… no, it's accustomed to peace in a time when it's said that the other countries are busy strengthening their forces. Could we… take Konoha right now?" he asked.

"We could…" Orochimaru trailed, "Though I'm not sure if there will be much fun in taking the head of that old geezer."

"Is that so?" spoke Kabuto with a small smirk, "It seems to me that you're still… hesitant to act."

Orochimaru's eyes narrowed slightly before he frowned, "…"

"From now on, the various Hidden Villages will fight against each other in a long an intense battle…" Kabuto stated, "Otogakure no Sato is one of them. You intend to become the trigger of all this… And he's the bullet for it? Isn't he? Uchiha Sasuke-kun was it?" questioned Kabuto as he adjusted his glasses.

Orochimaru chuckled, "You're so intuitive sometimes that it's scary…"

"Not really," admitted Kabuto, "I didn't know about the genin you sent into this at all. As part of my assignment to gather information about Sasuke-kun, I wanted to know the powers of the Oto-nin. I acted foolishly and purposefully took on their attacks… I didn't even think they'd all make it through the Prelims. You speak far too highly of me…" Kabuto's facial expressions faded before he looked at Orochimaru through his glasses, "If I didn't know any better… I'd say that I haven't gained your full trust quite yet."

"Was there really a need to tell you, my right hand man and second in command, about those three? I admit, I didn't expect them to make it this far, but they are still weak and insignificant. They can't do anything to possibly impress me… isn't that proof enough of my trust?"

Kabuto's eyes narrowed as he gave Orochimaru a long, hard stare, "…"

"…And that's why, I may ask you to take care of Sasuke-kun for me. While the curse mark I placed on him was sealed by Kakashi, it's far too powerful to remain sealed… not as long as Sasuke has 'darkness' in his heart and soul to power it. Above all else, however… I want you to kidnap Sasuke-kun right now."

"How unlike you… you actually seem anxious, Orochimaru-sama…"

"Well, there was something that bothered me a little… two things to be precise."

"I'm not sure about the other… but one of these 'things' is Uzumaki Narumi, right?"

"Sasuke-kun lives for the sole purpose of killing his brother for the sake of revenge. He's a child that will never die, a child who will refuse to die at all costs until he achieves his goal. But when he fought me, he knew the risks. He knew there was no way he could win, yet he fought me with all he had. I never thought he would be the kind of child who would rush to his own death like that. Your information told me that his contact with the Kyuubi-girl has been changing him. The faster we tear them apart, the better… I must dye him my colors soon."

"And the other threat?"

"That Ronin… her brother… I've looked through the Konoha birth records personally and it was stated that Uzumaki Naruto died stillborn when the Kyuubi's chakra swept through him and caused all of his major organs to instantly cease functioning. He was sent to the morgue without a second thought… However, his appearance has proven everything but the fact that he was dead. He killed that Suna genin with no quarrels then sealed the Hyuga heiress's soul and mind into his puppet. He destroyed two lives with no problems at all. If he fights Sasuke, I'm certain that he'll be killed. Furthermore, there's no doubt in my mind that if he kills the Kyuubi-girl, Sasuke-kun will transfer his rage from Itachi to Naruto. If that happens, several of my plans will be ruined. Luckily, we have something to kill Naruto with… the Oto-nin I have competing in these Exams. During the month of preparation, I'm sure we can fit each of them with an extra enhancement or two…"

"Well then…" Kabuto trailed as he walked away.

"Kabuto, you… If you want to stop me… you'll have to kill Sasuke right now."

Kabuto spun around and looked at Orochimaru, shocked.

"You likely can't kill me. You're only about as powerful as Kakashi…"

Kabuto's eyes widened and for a moment, he suspected death before suddenly Orochimaru smiled slightly.

"…Just kidding. All right then. Go on now. I have faith in you…"

"…" Kabuto smirked as his eyes seemed to stare at Orochimaru nervously and he vanished in a Shunshin.

Orochimaru just smirked…

'_The look on that boy's face… I wonder what he's thinking about._'

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End Chapter 10…

Well that chapter was just great! Neh? We got to see Naruto fight and we learned some shocking revelations…

Well, until next time, I suppose…

_**Forever Signed in Blood, **_

_**Slayer End**_


	11. First Half's Prophecy

_Recap! _

_After a series of crushing and back breaking fights, the Ronin finally makes an appearance in the final fight. His opponent's? Hyuga Hinata and Sabaku no Kankuro. In what was expected to be one-sided in opposition towards the Ronin proved to be quite the opposite. The Ronin, revealing himself to be Uzumaki Naruto, struck and killed Sabaku no Kankuro in a brutal display of techniques. Though Hinata fought bravely after her ally was killed, she fell to the Ronin's might as her soul and mind were pulled from her body and sealed into Kankuro's puppet. Afterwards, it was revealed that Orochimaru was entering preparations for a dastardly plan of epic proportions. The Ronin, Uzumaki Naruto, had quickly proven himself a mutual threat to Orochimaru and his supposed sister: Uzumaki Narumi. Will the darkness of Uzumaki Naruto prevail, or shall the light shine brightest in pitch-blackness? Only time will tell. _

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_"Human Life is God's experiment where the only constant variable is change; he sits back and observes while we suffer like lab rats on narcotics." Unknown_

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Naruto was never one to express emotion except when he was pissed off or happy. In this case, he was both, as he walked down the street sporting a grin so wide that it could have split his head in two.

The news that made him grin as such behind his mask was rather simple. He recently discovered that his match would be the first in the Chunin Exams.

His opponent… was Temari.

Naruto knew for a fact that he was going to win. But that didn't mean he wasn't going to train. Oh no, he needed to improve. He wasn't just going to sit down and be a lazy idiot like most other shinobi in the decaying world around him.

It was like trying to kill himself: Painful, pointless, and overall depressing. While he wasn't immortal, he was damn close to it. Almost any injury he suffered would heal in a few instances. Less than a minute…

It would take less than a minute to regenerate his entire body if only his indestructible, semi-indestructible he reminded himself, right arm remained in tact.

He wasn't god. And he disillusioned himself to the prospect of even coming close.

'_There is no god that smiles upon us. There is only a painful hell awaiting us._' He thought, '_Temari-san… I must wonder how long it will take before you understand that little fact of life and death. On a side note, I wonder, will you come to realize that your life became forfeit the minute your name and mine were picked to fight each other, or will you realize that when I crush your head against the stadium wall?_' His right hand began clenching and unclenching, "Or maybe…" he whispered aloud, "Maybe I'll surprise us both and simply leave you temporarily maimed like Hyuga-chan?" he questioned in a vague, foggy tone, "Choices, choices…"

He paused in his steps as he walked down the street.

"You can come out now… I know you're there." He called.

There was the sound of footsteps and suddenly somebody stood behind him.

"His plans have been altered…" trailed a voice.

"Ah, my subordinate… Glad to hear you're still alive and kicking. So Hebi-chan wants to play a little rough?"

"That's the idea. Orochimaru's plans have been altered because of you. What are you planning? I thought you were here to kill your second half?"

"I didn't get the chance and I personally can't afford to risk a one-man war with Hi no Kuni… yet. Let Orochimaru think he has all the cards and when he goes out with a four of a kind, I'll have a Royal Flush."

"He plans to use the Oto-nin to his advantage. Those three you allied yourself with…"

"I won't kill them. They're loyal enough and to kill them would be more troublesome than to let them live. If all my plans are to come to fruition, I'll need many allies in high places. Those three… will do for now."

"What are your orders?" asked the cloaked man behind Naruto.

Naruto ran a hand through his hair before tilting his head towards the man only a centimeter, "For now, act as usual. Return to your post then inform me of anything interesting. Ah, Hai… and we have a curious child walking in on his parents…"

The cloaked figure pointed one of his sleeves at the entrance of an alley and something flew out from his sleeve. It struck a wall, ricocheted off, and there was a cry of pain before silence.

"You need better code terms, Naruto-sama."

Naruto shrugged and continued walking even as the cloaked figure vanished with a shunshin, "So sue me."

He continued walking until he finally met something, his temporary home.

It was a dump. The building held the appearance of one that could topple over with the slightest gust of wind. There were thicker walls in a stable card house.

"Home sweet home…"

It was a necessity for all foreign competitors to have a place to stay. Usually, their home villages paid for a hotel. Naruto was a Ronin and, thus, lacked the money to afford such a luxury. He went with whatever he found best. In this case, it was a crappy motel-like establishment with a horrible insect infestation that had been the scene of dozens of grisly attacks on one 'Uzumaki Narumi'.

"I know everything about you, Narumi-san. Everything from the time you were but five years old. But recently, because of that damned extra seal Orochimaru put on you, I'd be lucky to get the equivalent of static on a radio. Bits and pieces… I hate that. But as soon as that seal is gone, I'll be able to restore my mental link with you. I can destroy you from there on out…"

Uzumaki Naruto was never one to express emotion except when he was pissed off or happy. In this case, he was the latter…

"I miss the happy days…" he muttered before closing the door and entering the darkness…

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Naruto was never a fool. In fact, he was quite intelligent. He had the capacity to have a spark of intelligence so unrivaled and so great that not even the most intelligent Nara would be able to outsmart him. But it is only a spark, not a fire.

Naruto knew this. Oh he knew this well. But there were things he didn't know. Things that bothered him…

When he was several months old and beside his sister in their mother's womb, the Kyuubi attacked. The initial sweep of energy was so powerful that it killed half the patients in the hospital from being such an infectious form of chakra… it was like a plague had been turned into some kind of blood-red demonic attack.

It was that which killed Uzumaki Naruto. He was announced stillborn and when the Yondaime arrived to take Narumi, he was shocked to hear that his plan to make the beast more manageable by splitting its strength in two was ruined. Naruto was sent to the morgue and Narumi was taken to have the Kyuubi sealed in her.

End of story… right?

…Wrong.

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Naruto walked up the steps of the old building and reached the roof only to look down upon each and every person in the vicinity. He could see so much from the roof that it was shocking. Were he an enemy shinobi, he would be able to map out a good portion of Konoha from his position.

But he wasn't an enemy… he was but a harmless Ronin. Though he had killed several people in the Exams and placed the Hyuga Heiress into a coma after sealing her soul away into a puppet, these people continued to underestimate him. They didn't believe he was as great a threat as he truly was.

And he was going to prove them horribly wrong. He didn't know how he'd do it, but he'd do it. He would make them all feel fear.

"This place… It's like staring at a dirty stained glass window. At first glance, it's beautiful. But to a careful eye, there is a dark and blurred smudge that ruins it all. Most people don't look at that smudge, but me…? I see it every day, everywhere I look. But the people here must be blind as _their_ window is _made_ of filth." growled Naruto with a scowl under his mask, "This entire world is just like that. The Omnipotent beings who watch us all must either laugh or cry at our pain, but either way it makes little difference."

He held out his right hand and stared into the sun. His hand clenched around the light and his face was covered in the shade of the Shinigami's Arm.

He sighed, "But me…? I'm the being who destroys every Omnipotent view of the mortal plane of existence where all humans roam. Shinigami-sama is most likely going to try to get this arm back when he finds out who has it. But if I die, I'll at least go down knowing I changed the world. I have only a pitiful five years to do everything I've ever needed to… and then my soul will be taken."

He got up and put his thumbs in his pockets before jumping down to the ground below.

"The Twin Dragons born and broken. One to be scorned then accepted, one to be loved then discarded. The Blade of Demons tears the forest asunder; the Blade of Angels restores the lost. The Samsara becomes the hydra as two take the first's place. With grief, the first half who becomes the great leader and the second of royal birth, the second saves the first, two halves of the same coin. The Child of Destiny falls to the Monster of Fate, and all is done once more. Will this shattered soul be free? Free from all its misery?"

He paused in his walk and stepped into an alley to look at the wall across where he saw a scorch mark from a flame. A pitch black burn against stone that could be mimicked only with a Katon Jutsu…

"_Leave me alone! I don't want to die!"_

"_Shut up Demon! You're going to get what you deserved!" _

For a moment, Naruto held his head in pain as memories from his other assaulted him, "Maybe never…" he murmured, "Maybe this prophecy will always come to fruit. An endless cycle of agony… I suppose that is our fate. And there is truly no avoiding it… none at all."

His teeth grit before he rushed forwards with his right arm and punched a hole in the blackened wall. His eyes had both become red with empty, black slits. Through the eyeholes of his perpetually smiling mask, the blood-red glow could be seen.

"But I'll be damned before I just roll over and die. Uzumaki Narumi… you were allowed a chance I never had. You have found acceptance and have been able to protect everyone around you. Me? Whenever I find something akin to acceptance, everything falls apart. I'll kill you, my second half. I'll kill you and destroy the prophecy. Nobody tells Uzumaki Naruto what to do… nobody!" he hissed before taking his arm out and walking out from the alley.

With each step he took, the clouds darkened. It was only until they were a terribly dark grey was there a clap of thunder and rain began to poor.

"And so I'll train. I'll kill you and everyone in my way. I'll find the answers to my questions… I'll find everything I need. And when I do… I'll finally know peace."

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End of chapter 11:

Yeah, it was a lot shorter than usual. But that's partly because a lot of stuff has recently come up. I've got work of all kinds to do and a job to look for… eventually.

I'll keep my deadline like I always do and I'll update Broken Twins on the 14th. I'll see you guys then.

On a side note: I've currently got a poll on my profile. I need votes. I've only got, what, twenty people and it's too close to call. So get some friends to vote on my poll. I need answers by the New Year.

Remember: Review, comment, rate, and tell other people about this story.

Sayonara!

_**Forever Signed in Blood, **_

_**Slayer End**_


	12. Ramen

_"I knew ever since I was a child, I was not like the others. I knew mine was a special existence." Sephiroth, Final Fantasy: Crisis Core_

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"Twinkle, twinkle little dot, can't you see that high up spot… growing bigger each moment, I was hit by it and felt torment. I was struck by a meteor, and my blood was seen by the liter…" sang a certain Ronin as he walked down the street, ignoring the looks being sent his way by most of the civilian population.

He chuckled and waked up to a small carriage with a little infant inside, "Hey little boy, I'm going to kill somebody today!" he spoke cheerily.

The infant burst into tears and began wailing.

Naruto bounced away, laughing happily.

"…For he was a jolly good kill-er, for he was a jolly good killer, for he was a jolly good kill-ER! That… nobody can deny! That nobody can deny!"

Naruto paused in his… singing to look to his right.

"Oh, what's this? I haven't had such a treat in ages… should I, soon-to-be Public Enemy Number One, partake in purchasing this delicacy?" he asked himself.

People continued to stare.

"The answer is yes!" he finally said before he walked over to the small shop.

"Ohayo!" somebody greeted him, "Welcome to Ichiraku's Ramen. How can we take your order?" asked a young brunette at the counter.

"I'd like a dozen of everything, please." said Naruto with a grin.

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The life of Uzumaki Naruto had practically been crap since his parents were brutally slaughtered. But, before then, while life was still hard but not as hard as it was now, he found pleasure in one particular type of food.

Ramen.

He would never know why he seemed to like the food so much. It partially stunted his growth, it was addicting, and it wasn't the healthiest food in the world. He admitted this to be totally true. And he would certainly settle for Red Bean Soup on a better day of the week. But Ramen… to him it was the food of the gods…

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Ayame gaped at the stranger in front of her. Nobody had ordered that much Ramen since… since Narumi! She was a bottomless pit, which was certain. But this guy… he was requesting the same amount she normally ate. Perhaps, Ayame thought, if she played her cards right Ichiraku Ramen would gain another incredible customer…

"Coming right up!" she said with a larger than normal grin comparable to the only other yellow-haired person to ever enter the store.

"Tou-san (Father)! We've got another one!"

"Another!"

"Yep!"

"We're going to be rich!"

Within moments, the strange person at the front seemed to melt at the sound of Ramen cooking and the smell that accompanied it.

"So what's your name?" prodded Ayame.

"My name's Naruto." replied the masked person, "I'm a Ronin competing in the Chunin Exams…"

"You seem pretty happy about that. Aren't Ronin usually killed?" asked Ayame, Naruto twitched, "I mean, I've never heard of a Ronin lasting more than a few minutes against a real shinobi… no offense."

Twitch, "None taken…" came Naruto's emotionless response as he sulked.

"Who're you fighting?"

"A girl from Suna. Her brother died against somebody in the Prelims and, if I had to guess, she won't last long against him in a fight either. I'm personally glad I don't have to fight him." replied Naruto with a wave of his hand.

"Ah…"

The curtains opened up and another customer walked in.

"Hey Ayame-chan!" she greeted, "I'll have a dozen of everything!"

Ayame brightened up even more.

"Tou-san! Narumi-chan is here! She's got her regular order too!"

"That's two dozen of everything!" shouted back Teuchi, the Ramen vendor, while he was trying to finish with Naruto's order.

"We're getting paid, aren't we?!" she shouted back before turning around to look at the two customers in the stand.

"Oh, Narumi-chan. This is Naruto-san. He's a Ronin in these exams, have you met him?" she asked.

Narumi paled as she stared into the eyes of her other while Naruto glared at her through his mask.

"We've met." They both said dryly at the same time.

"Great! Here, you can sit right next to him Narumi. No need to make him feel uncomfortable." Spoke Ayame with a smile.

Narumi sat down.

"Great! Now, your orders should be up in a few minutes, why don't you two chat while I go help my dad with the Ramen." she said before running in back.

As soon as she was gone, Narumi felt her skin pale further as the Ronin continued to glare at her. He had her right where he wanted. He was going to kill her… maim her if he could.

"Relax…" he finally trailed after sighing, the killing intent he was producing towards her faded to near-nothingness, "This is a holy place. It wouldn't feel right to kill you here."

"A… Holy place?" trailed Narumi with a stunned expression, "You think that too?"

"Essentially, we're both different sides of the same coin. What-ifs, if you will. We're bound to, unfortunately, share some likes or dislikes." replied Naruto with a shrug, "And you can drop the act. If your performance in the Chunin Exams were any indication, you're just about as great an idiot as a fantastic strategist. You're smart. I know it. You know it."

Narumi stared at him for a few moments…

"And we both know you're terrified of me."

"No…" Growled out Narumi with grit teeth, "No, I'm not afraid of you. I'm afraid of what you've become. And I fear how worse you'll get as time passes. You're a monster, you know that?" she hissed out, "You destroyed my best friend's life and shattered not one, but two families with _glee_."

"Oh… Foolish Imoto (Little Sister), I'm no more a Demon than you are. Perhaps I've been turned into a monster, but only because the world sees me as such. Tell me, have you ever seen genocide? Have you ever watched as over a thousand people are killed simply for the purpose of passing a message to the Daimyo of the country? In my short life, I have seen the darkest parts of humanity and have some to one conclusion. All humans are capable of it. They all feel tempted to perform these acts of 'inhumanity' – as you call it – and they can just go on sleeping at night with the happiest of dreams. You call _me_ a monster? Well, to you I am. But to me, the rest of the world is filled with beasts. Beasts that devour Ryo and the blood of their kin – the filthy sex-mongering cannibals – who will happily destroy everything in their path to get what they want. They are stupid creatures. The thing that separates me from them is the fact that I'm almost at the top of the food chain whereas they are at the bottom… I devour them to live. I have no purpose for it. You, even with your intelligence, must admit there is truth to my words. You can no more blame me for killing people than you could blame an owl for killing a rat. Long story short, this is nature, bitch, and it is _supposed_ to hurt."

For a minute Narumi stared at Naruto with wide eyes.

"How… how could you look at people like that?" she asked in shock, "Do you think the same of children, women, the elderly? Do you think the same of monks? Of Priests? Do you think that everybody is naturally evil? How could you…?"

"Years of practice. I'll tell you a little story. You see, I never wanted to be a Ronin. I used to life a normal life where I was almost entirely ignorant of your existence. I lived with merchants who found me after a group of people, shinobi, from your village found me to be alive and decided to cover it up. They left me out there to die, and I was found by merchants. Do I have to repeat myself again, or are you following me? For the first five years of my life, everything was happy. I had a mother, a father. They loved me dearly. They taught me all about economy in each of the countries and shinobi villages, something every _good_ merchant needed to know. And then, then one day we were somewhere between Hi no Kuni and Kaminari no Kuni (Land of Lightning). That was the day my life, as I knew it, was destroyed. Squadrons of Kumo shinobi were in hot pursuit of a group of Konoha Shinobi who had escaped their grasp only moments before. Our caravan was the perfect distraction. Tell me… how fast does wood burn when struck with a strong enough Katon Jutsu…?"

"…No. They… they didn't. Not Konoha. They would never-" began Narumi in horror.

"My father was the first to die. He went down painfully as his innards were torn out of his body and splayed everywhere. The caravan was set aflame and I could hear my mother's screams. My arm had long since been torn off since the initial act of activating explosive tags under our caravan with a well-thrown kunai. Then they were everywhere, fighting. Neither side gave in. Some were injured… others weren't injured. It was at the moment that I saw my mother's broken, beaten body that I finally lost all forms of sanity. I blacked out." At this part of the story Naruto paused and glanced at Narumi, she seemed pale as she shook – with rage or fear, he didn't quite know – and her palms were sweaty, Narumi continued, "I awoke surrounded in blood. Covered with so much of it that it was like wearing a second, sticky, melting red skin… a sickening drop had filled the air and the trees around us were burnt and destroyed. I had killed them, I knew. And I was terrified of this fact. I didn't know what had happened. All I knew was that the people I had seen as parents for my whole life… were now dead. I stumbled, fell, bled with every step. My arm was but a stump on my body. Still torn… and finally, after a week of trudging through forests and cliffs, I found myself deep within the territory of Kumo. A frightening place, indeed… do you know how I ate. How I survived? I ate rodents like squirrels and rats and voles, I ate dirt if there was nothing else and squeezed the barest amount of water from the parasite-infested waters of the swamps on the way. I was found by them… they were a samurai clan of no particular name. But, they worshipped the mighty Shinigami. They showed me true pity and saved my life and my very soul from being withered and killed before it could blossom into the bloody black rose it was meant to be."

There was silence for a moment.

"A black rose… there's no such thing…" muttered Narumi as she tried to recover.

"There is after it has withered and died. You see, that clan could only save me once before it was destroyed. I was still left to the dogs despite the benevolence of people who, ironically, devoted themselves to a God of Death!"

Narumi flinched.

"October Tenth, the fifth year of my life. After that, I started to have dreams about you. I started to see your life and how whenever mine would get worse, yours would improve. The Twin Dragons born and broken. One to be scorned then accepted, one to be loved then discarded." He murmured, "That's what those people said. That's what they claimed it to be. It's destiny that at that time, we chose our paths. I had everything to lose; you had almost nothing to lose. It was a night where one of us would surely lose our sanity. I lost mine when my family was destroyed and I was left alone after killing over a dozen people and having no memory of the dirty deed – I threw up after that – but how is it that you didn't lose your sanity? You, the one who was raped and burned in an alley only a few meters away from this establishment, didn't lose your sanity to this twisted village? That's right Narumi, I know everything about you… _everything_. And I will make you feel my pain today at the Chunin Exams." Naruto paused when he turned and saw Ayame and Teuchi appear from behind the curtain.

"Ta da!" called Ayame with a cheery smile, "Here's the order for Ronin-san, oh, excuse me, Naruto-san. And here's Narumi-chan's order, enjoy!" she chirped before walking back to the other side of the stand with her father.

Narumi began to get up from her seat.

"Hmm…? Leaving so soon, Narumi-chan? I'm not that intimidating, am I? After all, I am but a helpless Ronin. What could I _ever_ do to you?" he called from his seat.

"I… lost my appetite…" she replied before running to the Stadium, tears in her eyes.

Naruto shrugged and looked at the now two-dozen bowels of Ramen in front of him.

"More for me then…" he muttered to himself before he began to pound down bowl after bowl.

'_It's true… this really is a holy place…_'

He sighed in content, "I love Ramen…"

"Neh, Naruto-san, where's Narumi-chan?" asked Ayame.

"Oh? She had to leave so she could see her teammate and the competition before the Chunin Exams start up all over again. She has a hard opponent, after all." replied Naruto.

"Why'd she leave all this Ramen unfinished?"

"She was running late."

"But, doesn't that mean you're running late too?" questioned Ayame.

"I'll make it on time. I'm faster than her, so it should be no problem. Oh yeah, before you ask, she and I hit off pretty well. So well, in fact, that she decided to put both our bills on her tab." He answered before lowering his mask totally over his face once more, looking over the Ramen dishes, he was surprised he had already finished them, "Well, Sayonara Ayame-chan. I hope we can do this again some time."

With that, he performed the Shunshin no jutsu and vanished in a puff of smoke.

Ayame blushed, "Well, isn't he polite…"

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This is it for Chapter 12

It will be the 24th that I start on the fights. I do hope you enjoy your reading experience and until then I once again bid you… ado.

Before I go, I'd like to give a Special Thanks to SordweilderSurvivor for being my 200th reviewer!

Hooray to reviews!

_**Forever Signed in Blood, **_

_**Slayer End**_


	13. Uzumaki Debut

_"I still say a church steeple with a lightening rod on top shows a lack of confidence." Doug McLeod_

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Narumi stood in the corner of the waiting area away from everyone else as she sniffed. Another tear fell down her cheek and hit the floor.

'_He… he knows… how does he know? I've never told anybody about that!_' she thought worriedly.

'_He isn't a spy, but he knows everything about me. He made that much pretty clear… I don't care if he is my brother; nobody talks to me like that. Nobody… nobody has the right to destroy me like that!_'

She quickly wiped her tears away, though a look of sorrow remained cast upon her features.

"I can't be crying at a time like this. I have an opponent to fight…" she said aloud though quietly.

Deep down, she didn't know if she could really manage it.

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"Will everybody who isn't fighting please leave the arena so we may begin round one!" called the proctor, Genma.

Naruto stared at the man with the backwards Hitai-ate.

'_I wonder… what's with the needle?_' he thought, '_It seems so… unnecessary. Then again, my mask would seem unnecessary to many at this point in time._'

His eyes shifted left and right throughout the area even as the other genin left. He caught a wary glance from Narumi and a nervous glance from the red head with the gourd. Wait… nervous? Was he actually scared of him?

The Ronin couldn't help but chuckle. The container of the Ichibi (One-Tail) was scared of him? No… he was scared for his sister. Naruto turned and looked at the blonde with four ponytails before scoffing in contempt.

'_Pathetic… on a side note, where's the Uchiha-gaki? Don't tell me he's late… that just won't do._'

"Uzumaki Naruto versus Sabaku no Temari… Hajime!" said Genma before he wisely leapt out of the way.

'_Smart man…_'

Temari threw several shuriken at Naruto who simply jumped back to avoid them… only for a series of kunai to be headed at him. Naruto quickly snatched two kunai by their rings before swinging them rapidly to knock away the rest of the incoming projectiles.

"Futon: Reppusho no Jutsu (Wind Release: Wind Palm Technique)!" shouted Temari before clapping her hands.

A massive amount of wind was blasted forth towards Naruto, launching the shuriken that were once imbedded in the ground.

Naruto fell back into a defensive position and took out his right, bandaged arm in front of him to deflect a few of the shuriken. There were a series of 'clang' sounds even as they clicked off of his arm.

"Is that it? I was expecting… more." spoke Naruto.

Temari grit her teeth before she began to create hand seals…

'_She's been training… she didn't know half this stuff when I first saw her fight. Or perhaps… she knew these jutsu all along but never had the chance to use it._'

"You really want me, a helpless Ronin, dead… don't you?" asked Naruto with a grin under his mask.

"Shut up!" cried Temari at him with tears in her eyes, "You're about as helpless as a cornered panther! You killed my brother and I'll be damned before I let you get away with it! Futon: Kamikaze (Divine Wind)!" she called out.

Almost immediately a tornado of wind was sent at Naruto.

Quickly, Naruto jumped to the tree in the corner of the area just as the tornado struck. Almost as suddenly, more tornadoes formed and swiftly destroyed the tree, flinging Naruto out of it and across the stadium before he hit the wall on the opposite side with a sickening crack.

He felt blood trickle down from his mouth.

"Futon: Atsugai (Pressure Damage)!" she cried out before wind was blasted from her mouth at Naruto.

Several cuts appeared all over his body before his blood stained the cracked wall behind him in a pattern resembling a warped Rorschach. Was it an angel… or a skull?

Naruto slowly got up to his two feet as the injuries all over his body healed rapidly.

"Futon: Daitoppa (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)!" came another of Temari's cries as more wind came to smash Naruto against the wall again, leaving a deeper impression.

The crowd was silent as the dead…

Temari squinted her eyes to see through the dust that had been picked up from the most recent attack.

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The rest of the genin stood from their seats in anticipation, Narumi especially, as they watched the fight.

"You think he's…" started Chouji before being cut off by Shikamaru.

"He said his head's been chopped off and we watched his arm regenerate in only a few seconds. There's no way that was enough to kill him."

"Maybe you're just being paranoid," said Ino, "Maybe she beat him."

"No, he's right. That bastard… he isn't dead yet." said Kiba with a growl.

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Temari fell to her knees, panting. She'd done it. The person who killed her brother… he was dead now, wasn't he? No, wait. This wasn't it. No way in hell…

Temari got back onto her feet when she saw the smoke clear to show the Ronin. And although Naruto was worse for wear, he was unharmed.

"If that was all you had to fight me with, then I'm disappointed." spoke Naruto in a slow drawl.

Temari smirked despite her position. Even though she was exhausted, she knew it wasn't over. She reached behind her and grabbed her fan.

Suddenly she stood with her fan wide open. She bit her thumb and wiped it across the fan…

"Daikamaitachi no Jutsu (Giant Sickle Weasel Technique)!" she shouted as she swung the fan.

There was a sudden burst of smoke before the land all around the Ronin was hacked apart and chopped at, suddenly it hit the Ronin… only to disperse into nothing.

"N-Nani…?" whispered Temari with her eyes wide in shock.

The attack seemed to have cast a shadow of destruction. The only place where no damage was seen was Naruto. It was like he wasn't even affected.

"Tell me, Temari-san… How many laws are there? I only said one. Inertia. There is another law, the third law. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. When I'm hit with an elemental jutsu, I absorb it and it does no damage to me. That is the reaction and equal reaction. The opposite reaction is releasing an attack of equal force to what you hit me with… but with the opposite element. You hit me with a wind jutsu. Thus, I'm going to release the opposite of wind from every poor of my body except my right arm, seeing as how that wasn't originally a part of my body. So Temari… what's the opposite of Futon (Wind Release)?" asked Naruto in a sick tone.

Singes appeared on Naruto's clothing as the ground beneath him turned black. An oppressive heat suddenly appeared in the arena…

"That's right… it's Katon. And since my Elemental Affinities are Katon, Raiton (Lightning Release), and Futon: Any time I reflect an Elemental Jutsu with one of those elements as its opposite, it will come back stronger than the original attack. Temari, you've left the frying pan and finally entered the oven… How does it feel? Hot enough for you?"

Fire suddenly erupted from Naruto's body and blasted at Temari, knocking her backwards and destroying her fan, for the most part. She lied on the ground, covered in burn marks and groaning in pain. The paper of her fan had long since been burned away. Naruto shook his head and laughed at her.

"How sad… it's like you're struggling to breathe!" he jeered.

Temari panted as she struggled to her feet, her hands burned as she tried to use what remained of her precious fan to stand.

The crowd stood on the edges of their seats watching them, listening to them… this was their fight, but it was the crowd's entertainment. They were like the gladiators in the colloseum and the crowd silent at a sudden, unexpected surprise. Shocked even…

He was but a helpless Ronin… and he was going to brutally murder somebody in front of them.

Temari screamed in rage as she ran forwards with her partially melted fan in hand, prepared to beat the Ronin to death if she had to.

She got close… before there was a blast of smoke that obscured her view for only a moment… before the smoke turned from white to red and cleared to reveal blood cascading from several cuts all over her body.

Naruto walked away from her in his tattered clothing without any injuries, holding his sword in his left hand, he lifted his right hand to the air above and snapped his fingers.

Temari was blasted forwards as five holes suddenly appeared. One in each arm, one in each leg, and a single strike straight through her abdomen…

"The winner is Uzumaki Naruto! Now, get some medics here stat! On the double, people!" shouted Genma as he looked at the injured blonde in the dirt.

Naruto stood in the arena just as sand suddenly appeared behind him, "You hurt her," said Gaara, "Why? Why would you hurt her? She… Why did you have to hurt her? It doesn't make sense. You killed my brother, you've maimed my sister…"

"…So, what?" asked Naruto in the same tone he used with Temari on _that_ day…

(_Flashback_)

"You bastard!" she shouted, "You monster! You killed him! You killed Kankuro!" she cried at him.

He turned his gaze to her and grinned before asking a question that chilled her to the bone…

"…_So, what?" _

(_End Flashback_)

"Until now, all you've cared about was pleasing your _mother_ you insane and pitiful excuse for a human being. You want to stop me from killing people around you, people who give a shit about you, then do something about it. When we fight, try to kill me. You won't succeed, but you'll earn my undying temporary respect." said Naruto.

Gaara stared at him before he vanished in a Suna Shunshin. Naruto stood there for only a second more before following suit and vanishing in a burst of white smoke.

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"Another one bites the dust…" trailed Shikamaru morbidly, "Narumi… be careful out there."

Narumi nodded.

"Now round two will begin between Hyuga Neji and Uzumaki Narumi!" shouted Genma.

Narumi jumped down and ran to meet her opponent.

"Let's go!" she said before putting her hands into the seal for Kagebunshin.

Neji activated his Byakugan and settled into the Jyuuken stance.

"Hajime!"

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Naruto stood there in the corner at the top of the viewing area to watch everything again.

'_There are hardly any ANBU present here… what is that old moron in the Kage box thinking? There should be more of them… and they shouldn't be this easy to spot!_'

Naruto's gaze turned to the fight below… this reminded him of something…

(_Flashback_)

"Naruto!"

"Hai, Sensei." spoke the little blond.

The man sighed, "Naruto, I'd like to say that I respect that you've come so far with only one arm. Three years here and you've already accomplished what would take ten years for others. Yet I must say… sorry. There is only so much I can teach you."

"This is about me being too old, isn't it?! Just because I'm eight doesn't mean I'll never be able to advance! I don't care if most others reach this level before I'm eight!" snapped Naruto before he was suddenly struck.

"Boy… here, age has never been a problem for anyone, let alone you. Why now? You need a right arm!"

"But where… where can I get a new right arm, sensei?" asked Naruto with tears trickling down his cheeks… "I don't have a right arm. It's… it's not fair! I didn't ask for my right arm to be taken from me like this!"

"But I do know that you can ask to regain a right arm…"

Naruto dried his tears, "How, sensei? How will I get it? The arm…?"

"Perhaps we can make a deal with Shinigami-sama…"

(_End Flashback_)

Naruto hissed and swore before holding his head in pain, "Sad memory… can't think about that."

He looked down to see the fight between his _sister_ and the Hyuga boy.

"…I hope she dies." he said curtly before walking away from the scene.

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_"My barn having burned to the ground, I can now see the moon." Japanese poet Masahide_

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"Hakkesho Kaiten!" cried out Neji before he spun rapidly, expelling his chakra outwards to bounce Narumi away from him.

The fight so far had appeared… even to say the least. With Narumi's inability to be injured with Taijutsu and Neji's incredible defense, things had come down to Narumi making her Kagebunshin, attacking Neji, then Neji deflecting their attacks with a swift Kaiten.

However, this was only in appearance.

Narumi's ability prevented her from suffering any damage from Neji's attacks. But that's where her ability came to an end. Her Tenketsu would constantly be sealed and it became harder and harder to create her Kagebunshin. Hell, it was becoming difficult to move her limbs.

Narumi gritted her teeth in frustration when she almost lost her balance after landing from Neji's most recent Kaiten in her direction.

She swore.

This was going to be a hard fight. All it would take on Neji's part would be a kunai or some other sharp tool and she'd go down… hard.

"This is it?" asked Neji arrogantly.

Oh how Narumi wished to just punch that look on his face right off.

"After I saw your fight against the Inuzuka, I expected you to force me to put even a _remote_ amount of effort into this fight. But, no, all I see is the dead last; I suppose that it was fate which dictated my victory over you. Just give up." he finished.

For a brief instant, Narumi's eyes turned red before returning to their mismatched green and blue.

"…Give up?" she asked, "You're telling me…" she spoke as she stood upright on her two feet and glared at him, "To give up?" her face was suddenly shadowed while her hands clenched.

Neji smirked at her for a moment before he heard something disturbing. Something… odd.

"Ha… hah… haha hahaha!" she began to laugh before she showed her face at him, she was grinning like a maniac.

"You're telling me to give up? I've been having nightmares for weeks about my deranged twin brother who wants to kill me, almost fell to death off of a ravine, then I had to deal with a little bit of a nut-job's life story… and you're telling me to give up?" her grin faded instantly and she glared at Neji so hard that he almost flinched… almost, "Never… I don't give up, I won't give in, and there's no way in fucking hell that this is the end for me. I don't care what your _fate_ dictates, Hyuga! If I believed crap like that, I'd be dead right now! So shut up about your fate shit, because it doesn't exist!" she cried at him before charging.

There was a blast of smoke and suddenly she was holding a sword… the Tenshi no Shi. She jumped into the air and brought down her blade.

He quickly took out a pair of kunai and held one in each hand before Neji span, "Kaiten!"

There was a clang sound and suddenly Narumi and Neji were knocked away from each other.

Narumi felt herself get dragged along the ground before gripping the earth with her free hand and standing, Neji doing the same. She charged and suddenly swung her sword…

A small cut appeared on the wall behind Neji. His eyes widened, he didn't even see it…

Narumi smirked before she seemed to vanish in some kind of blur, suddenly, an image of her appeared in front of him.

Neji jumped backwards to avoid getting cut. And suddenly, from the little scratch in the wall, a sword emerged and slashed Neji right across his back.

"What the…! What is this?!" he hissed as he felt the blood drip down his back.

"This is the ability of the Tenshi no Shi…" trailed Narumi as she suddenly appeared in the same spot she previously vanished, "Here's how it works, I swing my blade and I can make a small cut anywhere I want on any inanimate object in front of me. Then things get interesting, my blade can then render my body intangible and teleport me to wherever I cut, then I can have my sword emerge from the cut in whatever form the cut allows. The bigger the cut, the bigger the sword… After I make that cut, I'm immediately teleported to wherever I was standing when I first swung my sword. It sounds complicated, but it really isn't." said Narumi with a small grin, "Now… I'm going to prove to you that fate doesn't exist!"

Neji ran forwards and suddenly struck Narumi, "Two…" he began after Narumi's eyes suddenly widened, "Four… Eight… Sixteen…" Narumi coughed out some blood after a chakra infused strike hit her gut, "Thirty two… Sixty four… Hakke Rokujuyon Sho!"

Narumi was flung backwards from the chakra induced attack before she skidded across the dirt, blood trailed down her mouth as she struggled to stand. Her face held a look of astonishment.

"How… did you hurt me like that…? I can't be physically damaged except if I'm cut so… how?" asked Narumi as she balanced herself on her sword.

"I did just that, I focused my chakra to be so precise that it could cut through some types of steel. True, it was costing. But, it was enough to defeat you. Now do you see? There was no way you could defeat somebody such as I, dead last. Fate would never allow it." said Neji with a smirk.

"What's got you so in love with fate anyway?" asked Narumi, "You're acting like you're its personal bitch!" she hissed.

Neji scowled, "Fate… I'll admit that I hate fate. I truly dislike it. But I've come to accept it…"

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In the audience, Naruto sighed.

"Here we go… the life of the average Hyuga on one side of the coin. I've already scratched out the other, looks like it is Imoto-chan's turn." he spoke aloud, "I wonder… after the times she's been having as of late, if she will do worse to you than I did to your other…?"

He chuckled.

"Yeah right… another one bites the dust, I suppose."

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"I'll tell you… the Hyuga Destiny of hatred. The Hyuga Main family has a special Ninjutsu that's been passed down… It's a… Curse Seal Jutsu…" he trailed.

"Curse Seal Jutsu?" asked Narumi, "Fuuinjutsu… I didn't know that the Hyuga ever had something like that."

"Not many people do… The curse of the mark represents a bird in a cage. It is… the symbol of being tied down to an inescapable destiny." He undid his Hitai-ate and showed his marked forehead to the world around.

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Naruto let out a low whistle, "Simple but to the point. I have to say, the Hyuga are evil, paranoid bastards.

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"N-Nani…?" trailed Narumi in horror as seeing this mark.

Oh she knew it… she'd seen it in effect on a small animal once. A pair of teenagers from the main family got drunk and marked a rat with it. Then they activated it over and over again, laughing as they did. The poor animal's head exploded all over the place.

But to see it on a person… terrified her. How could people be so cruel…?

"One day when I was four… I had this horrible seal carved into my forehead through that Curse Seal Jutsu. That day, a grand ceremony was taking place in Konoha. A shinobi leader from Kumo, which had been warring with Konoha for many years, had arrived to sign an alliance treaty. But at this ceremony which everyone attended from jonin to genin, one clan was missing… that was the Hyuga Clan. Because that was the day that the Hyuga heiress turned three. Hinata-sama's third birthday…"

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Naruto's gaze switched from the arena to Hyuga Hiashi as he glared at Neji.

His eyes narrowed, "Why do I get the feeling that I'm not going to like this next part…?"

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"…My father, Hyuga Hizashi, and Hinata-sama's father, Hyuga Hiashi, were twins. But Hinata-sama's father was born to this world first. A member of the Main family… my father, the second, became a member of the Branch family. When the Hyuga Heiress grew and turned three, I was turned into 'The Bird in the Cage' through this curse. As a Hyuga Branch family member…"

"That mark… it's supposed to make you a slave, isn't it? That mark makes it so that the Main family members could kill you whenever they want. That's why you're a caged bird… am I right?" asked Narumi.

"…Hai."

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Naruto stood there and blinked blearily a few times as he listened to Neji finish his story. He _especially_ loved the part when Neji said that Narumi 'didn't know what it felt like to be marked' that was great. She looked like she was going to kill him, for a minute there…

Naruto scowled as he thought about Hizashi and Hiashi. The twins… one that sold the other out… It just had to be the twins… If the whole 'mark' thing wasn't enough, he had to mention the twins…

Was this guy brain-dead? Hell, if Naruto knew no better, he'd say that the mark on his forehead had been used a few too many times.

Ah well… his funeral.

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"…That's it? That's why you believe in fate? If you really believed in fate, then why would you fight it?" asked Narumi.

"What do you mean?" asked Neji in pure shock.

"Look at yourself, you're probably the best shinobi the Hyuga has produced in fifty years and you're a _Branch_ member! That's against all of their beliefs, your beliefs… fate! Don't you get it? You're fighting against that as much as anyone would!"

"N-Never…!"

"I'm going to tell you something, Neji. When I'm Hokage, I'll make sure that everything is the way it should be… I'll get rid of that damned seal! I'll save Hinata and wake her up from her Coma! I'll do everything I can to help your clan when I become Hokage! And starting today, I'm going to break fate and prove to you that it doesn't exist!" she cried out in a heartfelt speech…

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"That was just sad… coming from somebody who has already seen what the future has in store for him, I can tell you right now Imoto-chan, you're going to be rethinking those words _really_ soon…"

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Narumi swept her sword up and created a diagonal slash across the ground in front of Neji and followed up with another attack, this one a stab, that hit the ground behind Neji.

Narumi blurred out of existence and suddenly, swords appeared from the cut up areas… all three of them. Neji seemed shocked.

'_How can she still use chakra?! I cut off all her tenketsu and injured her internally! She should be in no condition to fight!_' he thought frantically before entering a spin…

"Kaiten!" he cried out.

Narumi gritted her teeth in frustration for the umpteenth time that day. No way in hell was a chakra shield going to stop her from breaking though… never! She pushed with her blade and finally there was an explosion of dust.

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"…Narumi you whore… you won again…" scoffed Naruto, "Figures…"

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When the smoke cleared, Neji was the only one seen standing over the unconscious body of Uzumaki Narumi. His smirk of triumph was displayed proudly…

'_Yet, why do I feel empty inside even though I won…?_' he thought troublingly.

"Proctor," he spoke, "Call the match. She won't be getting up."

The 'Narumi' below him suddenly burst into smoke as, from behind, a fist connected with his jaw. He fell to the ground half-conscious.

"…I should have known… Kagebunshin… it's your best jutsu…" trailed Neji as he faded in and out of consciousness.

"You know something, Neji? I failed out of the academy three times. It wasn't just because the teachers sabotaged my grades… but see, there was this one jutsu… this _one_ fucking jutsu I couldn't get right." She almost hissed that part out, "Bunshin no Jutsu…"

Neji's eyes widened.

"See Neji? I thought fate was written in stone? Looks like people _can_ change…" she said before Neji finally lost consciousness.

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Naruto sighed at this. It was… kind of humbling to have watched Narumi win like that. True, he could have killed Neji easily, but she did well enough that it earned a few of the judges' respects.

"She'll make chunin by the end of this, probably." he muttered.

After a moment, he sighed…

"Time for the next match, then…"

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You might have noticed that I used two quotes in this instead of one. Well, I have a reason for that…

I originally intended for this to be two chapters. But, I decided I had the time and thought, eh… what the hell.

So there you go… I hope you enjoy this bargain that's two for one. I'll see you again on October 4th with the next match. Until then… Ja ne!

_**Forever Signed in Blood, **_

_**Slayer End**_


	14. Gas, Sound, Splinter, Death

_"Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died." Erma Bombier_

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'_Hmm… And here I was hoping to see Kin fight the Uchiha Gaki. How sad that he isn't on time… still, from the looks of things, there's no way the Uchiha will be disqualified from these Exams. So… That means it's the Nara boy fighting against Zaku._' Naruto thought silently as Genma listened to the ANBU that had appeared right next to him, "Zaku… you seem different… stronger, even. After thirty days, I hope you've gained enough strength to fight a Nara…"

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"Because not all of the competitors for the Chunin Exams are present, we will move on to the next match before showing Uchiha Sasuke's fight!" announced Genma at the protests and 'boos' of the crowd, "Instead, we will have Nara Shikamaru versus Abumi Zaku!"

The two genin came down into the arena, Shikamaru rather reluctantly, and stood opposite of each other.

"I'm going to blow you apart for what you and your friends did in the forest to me and my team!" hissed out Zaku.

"Still sore about that?" asked Shikamaru before he sighed, "Troublesome…"

His eyes slowly drifted to look at Zaku's arms, the ones that could destroy almost anything in their path, and suddenly his eyes widened. '_His hands… they're different. Is it possible that his arms have been modified in the span of only a month?!_'

"Ready?" asked Genma after a moment's pause, "Then… Hajime!"

And so began the Oto Trio's debut to the world…

"Zankuha!" shouted Zaku as he aimed his hands at Shikamaru.

Shikamaru barely had the time to curse before rolling out of the way of a devastating air attack that tore up the earth in its path before colliding with the stadium wall. The Nara heir couldn't help but feel somewhat grateful for all the destruction that had been done to the arena thus far, the earth all over the place had been spiked up and turned rather rocky with large chunks of rock reaching out of the ground and pits every direction.

This, of course, provided more than enough cover for him. Now, all that Shikamaru had to do was wait it out until there were a few more shadows to work with, and he'd be fine. That is… until he heard Zaku shout out something that made his blood run cold.

"Kitaiton: Zankuha (Gas Release: Decapitating Air Waves)!" he cried.

Once again, a high pressure blast of air was sent from Zaku's hands at the rock that covered Shikamaru, forcing him to leap out of the way and take cover elsewhere. The results were the same as the first attack and the rock was quickly decimated… however now, now there was the smell of gas in the area…

He could practically feel Zaku smirk, "I bet you're wondering how this attack is different than my previous? Well, I'll tell you. My shoulders and lungs contain a rare gas that is only found in Kuma no Kuni (Land of Bears), it's highly toxic and flammable. I'm immune to it, of course, and I even have the ability to blast this from my palms. But that's not even half of it…" Zaku suddenly spread his hands wide before smirking, "You're going to be burned alive before you can even suffocate to death. Die!" he clapped them together and suddenly sparks appeared.

The gas quickly caught aflame and destroyed the entire area that had been struck. Fires continued to burn even afterwards.

"If I don't kill you with the pressurized air waves from the initial attack and if the gas doesn't cause you to suffocate and die, then I can just blow you to smithereens!" shouted Zaku before he started to laugh, "No matter what you do… you're dead!"

Shikamaru's wide eyes slowly narrowed before they closed and he sighed even as the destruction from Zaku's second attack continued to burn the area around them, "Troublesome…"

His eyes opened just as slowly before he looked up at the sky.

"Huh… there are quite a few clouds in the sky today… that one looks a little bit like a shuriken." muttered Shikamaru.

"Hey! Bastard! Get out here so I can kill you! Quit hiding!"

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Naruto felt his eye twitch, "That guy… has one hell of a temper problem…" he trailed.

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"Shikamaru's fighting _this_ guy?" asked Ino incredulously, "He's doomed… there's no way he'll win if he's just going to sit around and look at the clouds!" she finally screeched.

"Hey, don't worry about it. Shikamaru can beat this guy. He'll probably win if this nut really wants him dead, otherwise he'd just give up and let this Zaku guy win the match." said Chouji.

"He's got a point…" trailed Narumi, "The Shikamaru I know is too smart to let this guy win. He'll beat him."

"Shikamaru… win?" asked Kiba questioningly, "You're serious. You really think he'll beat this guy? His grades were almost as low as yours, Narumi. He's gonna get himself killed out there!"

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Shikamaru took out a piece of glass from inside his pocket and slowly reached out to let it reflect Zaku's image.

'_He's getting more and more troublesome by the minute. And by the looks of it, he doesn't know where I am. That's good… It means I won't be killed any time soon as long as I'm quiet. Maybe I can end this quickly without coming off as being too strong to everybody… that would be troublesome…_' he thought before placing the glass back in his pocket and forming the hand seals.

"Kagemane no jutsu…" he spoke in a hushed tone before a few tendrils of shadow headed towards Zaku.

"Hell no! I've seen what those things can do!" he hissed before aiming his palms at the tendrils, "Kitaiton: Teitaiho (Gas Release: Air Cannon)!"

There was a sudden blast of energy and the earth around Zaku was upturned before a dark yellow cloud formed.

'_Poison!_' thought Shikamaru before he jumped backwards and out of the toxic cloud's range.

Shikamaru stared silently at the cloud for a few moments.

'_His technique… its purpose is to fire a more precise Zankuha in a quick, short burst. It isn't meant to cause wide-spread damage, rather, its purpose is to catch the enemy surprised or create more of this gas. That's troublesome... I can't use my shadows if I can't see him._' Shikamaru's eyes slowly drifted upwards, following the cloud, '_Huh, that's odd… I thought the natural gas in Kuma no Kuni was restricted to the canyons because it had a greater density then the atmosphere we're familiar with. Also, the gas there is highly poisonous, but not flammable… far from it, actually! So that means this is a diluted gas that's been combined with something else, something that's both lighter than air but still highly flammable. Something like hydrogen would do the trick… that figures…_'

"Kitaiton: Teitaiho!" shouted Zaku again, this time aiming for Shikamaru's exposed form.

When it hit, Shikamaru was suddenly replaced by a piece of rock from the area around… that was promptly pulverized.

'_His attack… it's faster and stronger than his Zankuha because it's concentrated on a single point. Then it leaves behind that gas… damn it! This is bad… That attack should be strong enough to dent and even break through steel, if necessary… I can't stand up to that. If he hits me with that then I'm dead!_'

"You really _are_ afraid! You're still hiding! Get out where I can see you, you lazy bastard!" yelled Zaku, "Kitaiton: Teitaiho!"

Another blast of gas was launched forth and struck the rock that hid Shikamaru from view. It was quickly decimated and Shikamaru barely had the time to replace himself with something else in the arena.

"You think you can keep on replacing yourself with stuff in the arena, huh?! You think you can get away?!" cried out Zaku before he clapped his hands.

The gas was set aflame and everything exploded and burned. Just as quickly, the fires faded and left behind only several scorch marks.

He pointed his palms away from him. One palm went directly to his left, the other to his right.

"Kitaiton: Ho-Teitaiho (Gas Release: Fire-Air Cannon)!"

This time, there was a small spark from both his palms when suddenly fire launched from his hands, burning and cutting everything in its path. The smoke continued to rise.

Shikamaru looked up from his most recent hiding place… '_Are those clouds getting bigger?_'

Just like Shikamaru to worry more about the clouds than the opponent in front of him…

"I bet you're scared shitless, aren't you?!" Zaku shouted again.

"Oi, how long have we been fighting?" asked Shikamaru suddenly.

Zaku paused and looked around, "I dunno, about twenty minutes or so. Why's it matter?"

Shikamaru glanced out at him from behind another rock, "Look around you. Look at all of them, the shadows. The stadium wall alone is casting a shadow large enough to cover at least a fourth of the area. These upturned rocks and boulders cover most of the rest. Finally, there are so many clouds up there right now that, from time to time, almost the entire arena is totally covered. This isn't your element anymore." explained Shikamaru before putting his hands into a seal, "Kagemane no Jutsu!"

The shadows around Zaku suddenly came to life and the insane grin he'd worn for the majority of the match faded and quickly turned into a frown, "Oh shit…!"

They wrapped around him and suddenly, Shikamaru jumped backwards. Zaku felt a brief moment of weightlessness before he flew backwards and smashed against the stadium wall.

He fell to the ground, unconscious.

"The winner by knockout is Nara Shikamaru!" announced Genma.

The crowd roared and cheered.

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"So that's it, neh Zaku? That's all? Well, you did good… It wasn't a bad match per se, but it left a bit to be desired. Never-the-less, I'm glad I chose you for an ally…" trailed Naruto before he looked up at the Kage box, "Do you see him, Hebi-teme? Do you see what hell you've created? Your pawn made it to the other side of the board and now he's the bishop. The soldier of crossroads…"

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_"You don't seem to understand. I'm not trapped here with you; you're trapped here with me!" Rorschach, Watchmen_

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"Will Kinuta Dosu and Sabaku no Gaara come down for the next fight?!" shouted out Genma.

Dosu calmly walked down to the arena while Gaara appeared in a whirl of sand.

Naruto felt his eyes narrow as he looked down at the two genin, "Let's see what you can do, Dosu. Show them… show the world your power."

Dosu stared hard at Gaara with his one visible eye, "I know you. I know how you work… you rely totally on your sand and you're week against speed attacks and excessive Taijutsu."

Gaara stood expressionless, "…So?" he asked.

"Hajime!" called out Genma before backing off.

"So this!" shouted Dosu.

He ran forwards as quickly as he could with his Melody arm out in front of him. Gaara didn't move an inch as the sand quickly came up to block Dosu's strike.

Suddenly, it burst out everywhere and Dosu continued his charge forwards. Gaara's eyes widened before his sand struck Dosu, knocking him backwards.

Dosu quickly was back on his feet, "I bet you're wondering how I did that just now, right? Well it's simple. I send out a wave of high-pressurized sound into your sand. It was strong enough to blow most of it away. True, you can still force me back, but your sand shields are ineffective against my attacks. But there's more…" he trailed before suddenly he blurred and vanished.

Gaara's eyes narrowed before suddenly, there was a crashing sound behind him. Instinctively, he looked behind him just in time to see the sand that had come up fall to the ground.

"I've gained the ability to move at the speed of sound…" came Dosu's voice from all around him, "And I can manipulate it like a toy is a child's plaything… Ototon: Hibikidou (Sound Release: Sound Motion)!"

Gaara's eyes narrowed. This guy… he had a means to an ends. Dosu had the ability to actually pierce through his ultimate defense, that wasn't good. With somebody having such a strange ability, it was only a matter of time before he could get hurt. It was unnerving, to say the least. He didn't like pain… that match in the preliminaries was painful and this guy could probably do worse if he got the chance. There was only one way to deal with this situation… Sabaku no Gaara was going to _make_ a desert.

Gaara's eyes closed in concentration as the gourd on his back totally dissolved into sand and fell to the arena ground, filling in the holes and gaps from the previous matches.

Dosu's eye slightly narrowed, "What are you up to…?"

Gaara lifted his hands and clenched them as suddenly the rocks and earth around the arena cracked and shattered. They quickly seemed to dissolve into nothing but sand…

Dosu swore before lifting up his Melody arm just as the new sand around him came up to tear him apart. It wrapped around him tightly, but what Gaara and the others couldn't fathom was why it wasn't Dosu's silhouette wrapped in sand, but rather a sphere that floated in the middle of the air.

"Ototon: Doutate Bakuha (Sound Release: Sound Shield Explosion)!" shouted out Dosu before the sand around him was blasted away.

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"Hello, youthful Shinobi of Konoha!" came a loud voice from behind the genin who watched the fight.

They practically jumped at the volume, "Gai-sensei?!" called out Tenten, "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with Lee?"

"I am with him, my youthful student. He's right here!" announced Gai.

Narumi shuddered when Lee suddenly appeared from behind Gai in his crutches, "Gai-sensei! Your youthfulness in bringing me here with you amazes me! Truly we burn with the Fires of Youth!"

She felt her eye twitch…

'_So… Much… Spandex…_' she thought silently.

"So, Narumi-san! Seeing you here, am I to assume that Neji-kun lost?" asked Gai.

"Yosh! Did you defeat my eternal rival?!" came Lee's shout.

"Yeah… it wasn't easy, but I beat him." stated Narumi, "You two missed a lot before you got here, do you want me to fill you in?"

"There is no need for such, we have already been informed of what has transpired so far in this mighty tournament of youth! We only need to know who is fighting right now." stated Gai.

"Dosu versus Gaara." said Sakura dryly, "You might want to watch this fight closely, Lee-san."

Lee's eyes narrowed slightly at the comment before he felt Gai's hand on his shoulder, looking up he saw Gai nod only once before Lee nodded back and smiled.

"I will… watch." he said.

Narumi stared at him for a fraction of a second before returning her gaze to the fight.

'_It must be hard for him… to have to watch two people who beat him to a pulp duke it out. I can't say I envy him, if it were me in his position then I'd probably go insane._' she thought.

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Gaara looked up at the place he'd held Dosu and there he stood. In the middle of the air, he had no harm to his entire body. None at all…

"That was my ultimate defense. I can convert sound from being a wave to being a particle. I can then form that particle around me in a perfect sphere to keep me from being harmed, then by letting it turn back into a wave it can blast out violently in a miniature sonic boom!" he explained, "That's also why I'm able to float. I'm using all the sound around us to form a solid barrier of sound for me to stand on. And you see, Gaara… there is no real 'Silence'… Absolute Silence can only come when a person is dead! Ototon: Soukei-Soen (Sound Release: Total Silence)!"

Then there was nothing. Everything seemed to vanish. Gaara couldn't hear a thing… suddenly; there was a loud, thunderous boom.

The sand around Gaara quickly picked up and was knocked around and he felt something. He looked down just in time to see Dosu's Melody arm that had struck his abdomen vanish into nothingness and he felt a devastating his to his back that rocketed him away. He could suddenly hear again as his sand shuffled quickly to his aid as though to catch him and minimize the damage done to his body.

He suddenly fell to the ground and coughed out blood to the sand.

'_**Kill him! Kill that fool! Slaughter this insignificant gnat for his insolence! Kill him!**_'

The voice of Shukaku grew more tempting by the moment…

'_**Release me and I will make them all pay! I will kill him for hurting us! I will kill the Ronin for your siblings! I will kill all who have wronged you and then some!**_'

His eyes narrowed… no… that's what it wanted. He finally understood…

(_Flashback_)

"Until now, all you've cared about was pleasing your _mother_ you insane and pitiful excuse for a human being. You want to stop me from killing people around you, people who give a shit about you, then do something about it. When we fight, try to kill me. You won't succeed, but you'll earn my undying temporary respect." said Naruto to him, his eyes glowed an unholy red behind his mask.

(_Flashback_)

"Nee-chan, what is that?" asked a young Gaara to a younger Temari.

"Hmm? Oh, Gaara-kun, that is the Shukaku. The Spirit of the Desert… it is said that he has total control over the sand everywhere!"

"Oh! He seems really powerful. But… if he's the Spirit of the Desert, then where is he now?"

"He's in you Gaara. In a way, you protect us all from him… you protect us from him so he can't hurt us. You see, Shukaku's really scary. He's supposed to be a monster that hurts people all the time… he's crazy too!"

"Is he why I can't sleep?" asked Gaara with wide eyes as he looked at Temari.

Temari bit her lip and sniffed once or twice before drying her eyes with her sleeve, "Yeah, Otouto… that's why…"

"Temari… if I protect everybody, then why do they all hate me?" he asked after a moment.

"It's because people aren't that smart a lot of the time. But don't worry… one day; they'll see… they'll all see…"

"Nee-chan, are you crying? Are you sad…?"

"N-No… I'm not sad…" she stuttered out before hugging Gaara, "I'm happy I have a little brother like you…"

All the while, her tears fell down her cheeks.

"Arigatou, Temari-nee-chan…"

(_End Flashback_)

'_No…_' he thought silently to the voice that screamed in his head, '_Temari was right… Naruto was right…_'

(_Flashback_)

"Hey! What the hell are you trying to do to Bushy-Brows!" shouted Narumi at him.

"I was trying to kill him…" he said in a monotone.

"Nani?!" cried out Narumi.

"Why is there need to do that?! You won the fight!" yelled Shikamaru, "Do you have some personal grudge against him?!"

"I do not… I'm just going to kill him because I want to kill him." announced Gaara in that slow, dark monotone…

"What are you talking about?! You Bastard!" roared Narumi.

"You must have had a messed up childhood. How self-centered can you be?" asked Shikamaru in a lazy drawl.

"If you get in my way… I'll kill you too." Gaara stated, this time his eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

There was an almost unnoticeable rise in killing intent in the room, "What?! Go ahead and try!" shouted Narumi as her mismatched eyes quickly turned red before returning to their original green and blue.

Gaara's eyes slightly widened, an action missed by Narumi yet noticed by Shikamaru, "Hey! Narumi… quit it!"

(_End Flashback_)

Gaara grit his teeth, '_I've done this… I… I shirked my duties as a protector…_'

'_**What is there to protect?! Just kill all of them! Satisfy me! Feed me with their blood!**_'

Gaara's eyes widened and he stood, for once he ignored the pain that thundered in his skull… "No…" he whispered, "You aren't mother… you're just the monster that's been using me as its puppet. No more… I'm my own person… I refuse to follow you any longer!" he hissed out, "This person in front of me… I'll beat him. But I won't kill him… there's only one person who deserves death, and it isn't him!"

Gaara lifted his arms and suddenly thrust forwards, launching a wave of sand forwards. A hole appeared in this sand and suddenly Dosu reappeared.

"Hah! I don't care how insane you are! You're not going to get me!" he shouted at Gaara, "You think those were the only tricks I've learned? Hell no!"

He removed the bandages from his face and Gaara had to, for once, use his willpower not to flinch back. Even in all the nightmares that Shukaku had forced upon him, none were worse than this man's face…

It wasn't burnt, oh no, rather it looked like it had been mostly torn off. The bone around his left eye was visible, the left eye itself wasn't there. It was but an empty socket. Gaara could clearly see the stringy tendons that held Dosu's mouth together. But it was his teeth that frightened him…

His teeth were like those of an angler, each and every one of them was long and thin like dozens of needles, rows of sharp teeth.

They clicked together and Gaara couldn't help but feel his eyes drift down slowly to see Dosu's throat wrapped in metal bands with a few pieces of flesh stretched over them. Stitches lined the area around the one good part of his face and his throat.

A soft hum suddenly could be heard from the device around Dosu's neck as his teeth clicked together and his voice could be heard… or was it is voice? No… Oh god… it started to change from a scream of agony that could only belong to him, to a warped laugh…

_Temari's laugh…_

It changed back to Dosu's voice before his mouth opened up and a long, tentacle-like tongue reached out like a whip. There were holes along this tongue and with every movement, it was like somebody had stepped on a few bagpipes, or maybe an accordion… it could have been a harmonica, Gaara wasn't too sure.

"You see, Gaara…" his voice hissed and whistled, "I have the ability to replicate any sound I hear with my mouth, throat, and tongue. I can create the most beautiful melody, or recreate the sounds of a war… of death. Isn't it wonderful…?" he dragged out his last word for a moment, "But I can do something else with my mouth too…"

Gaara suddenly felt disgust as Dosu's mouth seemed to stretch open leaving a massive gap between his upper and lower jaw. Then suddenly, Dosu's tongue whipped out and Gaara heard something terrible…

"Ototon: Chihou no Unari (Roar of Dementia)!" he shouted, a blast of sound rocketed towards Gaara.

He barely had the time to set up a shield to stop the incoming sound attack. That screeching, crying noise… it was the sound of the dead rising, it was the sound of blood falling, and it was the sound of true fear.

The sand quickly wrapped itself around Gaara in a protective cocoon.

"That won't stop me… I'll just blast it away again. Ototon: Hibikidou!" he rushed forwards and began to deliver one punch after another to Gaara's shield.

Quickly, Dosu became no more than a simple blur. He was unseen and only the explosive sound of his attacks could be heard.

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"Amazing… simply astounding, Dosu. You've earned my respect. To put Gaara in a corner like this… but to quote his sister, he is 'about as helpless as a cornered panther'… now would be an awful time to underestimate him." stated Naruto with a small smirk, his voice filled with mirth as he pleasured in their fighting.

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Narumi's eyes narrowed slightly.

'_Did Gaara… Did Gaara just say what I think he said? Gaara…_' a small smile reached her lips, '_You've changed for the better…_'

(_Flashback_)

"…I'll say it again…" spoke Gaara in an emotionless monotone, "Get in my way and I'll kill you."

Narumi lost it, "I won't be killed by the likes of you!"

"I told you to stop it!" shouted Shikamaru at her, "His strength is like a monster, don't you understand that?!"

"I have a real monster in me…" trailed Narumi with a small smirk, "I won't lose to the likes of him!"

Gaara stared at her for a moment.

"Stop provoking him, Baka!" Shikamaru hissed at her.

"…A monster… eh?" asked Gaara, his eyes closed shut for a moment before opening and glaring at the two Konoha Genin, "Then… it's the same for me. As you said, I had a 'messed up childhood'. I was born to this world by taking the life of the woman I would have called my mother… To become the ultimate Shinobi… with my father attaching the incarnation of sand upon me through Ninjutsu…" Gaara's sea-green, sleep deprived eyes narrowed into slits, "I was born a monster."

It was said with such certainty and finality that Shikamaru couldn't help but feel fear at the statement.

(_End Flashback_)

'_But I wonder…_' thought Narumi as her eyes narrowed…

'_What changed him in the first place?_'

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Sabaku no Gaara closed his eyes as the sand shield around him was delivered one blow after another. There was a way out of this, he knew. Dosu was a powerful individual that could probably take on many chunin easily. Perhaps even a Jonin would have problems fighting him.

But Gaara had killed Jonin level shinobi both in and out of his home. Though he hated to admit it, he was easily strong enough to take on a jonin with the power he weld. Dosu, however, was strong enough that this would be an issue no matter what he did.

So… how fast could Dosu go? Would he be able to escape an entire desert if it chased after him?

After a moment's pause, Gaara showed the closest thing he had to an emotion in several years. He smirked.

The answer?

…No.

His sand shield suddenly exploded outwards, striking down Dosu in the middle of his most recent attack. Before Dosu could even get up from his dazed state of being hit back so hard, the sand that now made up the entire arena suddenly came to life all at once and surrounded him.

It grabbed him by his arms and legs and lifted him up. All the sand in the arena slowly but surely came to surround Dosu completely until there was no more sand to lift up and grasp Dosu with. Suddenly, it lifted to the sky. Higher and higher…

Then finally it reached a point where it eclipsed the sun from his view. Gaara lifted his hand and felt his eyes narrow.

"I won't kill him… but I won't allow him to torment anybody either…" trailed Gaara softly before lifting his hand high and clenching it, "Sabaku Soso (Imploding Sand Funeral)!"

The sand exploded and fell to the ground as though it were rain. Following the sand's decent was Dosu who unceremoniously hit the ground with a loud thud. The sand in the arena slowly came back together and repaired the arena one crack at a time before only the barest amount of sand was left as it crawled back to Gaara and reformed his gourd.

Gaara held out his hand for a moment and the last of the sand swirled into it and formed the cork. Calmly and quietly, he put it into his gourd without a second's thought.

Dosu groaned as he attempted to get back up from the ground only to fail miserably, "Damn you…" he gurgled out with his warped voice, "Damn you to hell…"

After a moment of glaring at Gaara, he finally passed out.

"The winner is Sabaku no Gaara!"

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"Dosu… though you didn't win, you solidified my belief that you should be an ally of mine. I'm glad about that… if it turned out that I couldn't trust you, I'd kill you." muttered Naruto under his breath, "You Oto-nin are so… amusing… But what would I know? I'm just a helpless Ronin."

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"He's different," said Lee all of a sudden, "From before, I mean… During that last portion of the fight he didn't try to kill Dosu-san. He only knocked him out. Gai-sensei, what happened?"

"…Lee, my precious student, sometimes people change for better or for worse. From what I saw, I believe that Gaara was mentally unstable even before the start of this match. I think that he had an epiphany of some kind." announced Gai.

"Epipha-what?" asked Kiba.

"An epiphany, a realization of some kind," answered Sakura, "I don't know what happened, but I think something Dosu said got to him. He's changed…"

Tenten looked at Lee from the corner of her eye, "I just hope it happened sooner…"

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_"I'm warning you! I'm a black belt in Origami!" TJ, Recess: School's Out_

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Naruto felt himself twitch from irritation, "That Uchiha-Gaki is going to get himself disqualified?! Pathetic! All because his Scarecrow of a sensei is chronically late! This is both wrong and sad on so many levels!"

He suddenly paused when he felt a flare of chakra from the arena, "Wait… Oh! I spoke too soon. Uchiha is here…"

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Kakashi appeared in a Shunshin of leaves with Sasuke right next to him in front of Genma.

"I hope we're not too late…" trailed Kakashi.

Genma smirked, "You couldn't help but make a flashy entrance, could you?"

Kakashi looked around, ignoring the question, and asked one of his own, "What happened to the tree? I mean, aside from that, it's like this whole arena has been untouched. I'd have thought that the genin would have torn this place to pieces by now."

Genma felt his eye twitch, "Gaara was the most recent fight. He won, surprisingly enough without killing his opponent, and then he fixed the whole arena. You should have seen some of these fights." he trailed.

"A pity I missed them. Is it too late for Sasuke?" questioned Kakashi.

"Nah, you just made it. I was about to disqualify Sasuke, so you'd better be grateful that he made it just in time." spoke Genma with slightly narrowed eyes.

"I am, don't worry… I am."

He turned and looked at Sasuke, "I trust you won't have trouble?" he asked.

"I beat her in the forest, she shouldn't be too hard to beat again." said Sasuke with a smirk.

Genma blinked and scratched the back of his head, '_He's underestimating his opponent? That Tsuchi girl is going to kill him if he doesn't take her seriously._' he thought.

"Alright, Uchiha Sasuke is present. Will Tsuchi Kin come down and-" he was cut off by a sudden burst of smoke.

Tsuchi Kin stood there with narrowed eyes glaring hatefully at the Uchiha, "Underestimate me, will you?! You little snot! You'll just be a stain on the ground by the time I'm through with you!" she hissed at him.

"Sensei…" Sasuke trailed before looking at him pointedly.

"I know I know… time to go up and watch." said Kakashi innocently before vanishing in a puff of smoke.

"Well then…" trailed Genma, "I trust you both know the rules?"

The two genin continued to stare each other down. Kin's hands twitched as though trying to grasp something while Sasuke's legs twitched as though he was ready to break a run for it any second.

"In that case… Hajime!"

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Narumi looked down at the fight with wide eyes, "Why does the Teme always have to show off?!" she finally screamed in frustration.

"You're just jealous that you can't be as cool as Sasuke-kun." stated Ino and Sakura as they glared at Narumi briefly before returning their gaze to the fight.

Narumi could practically see the hearts in their eyes.

'_Those two can be such fan girls sometimes…_' she thought to herself.

There was suddenly a blast of smoke right next to Narumi that made her jump, "What the hell?!" she narrowed her eyes when suddenly the smoke cleared, "Kakashi-sensei?!"

"Who else would it be?" asked Kakashi.

"Well, Gai-sensei and Lee came here during the last match." stated Narumi dully.

"Did they appear in a Shunshin?"

"No…"

"So it had to be me!" said Kakashi before grinning… or at least, Narumi _thought_ he was grinning.

"…I'm not even going to mention how little sense that makes." muttered Narumi, "So, Kakashi-sensei, are you sure that Sasuke can take her?"

"Hmm? Of course." he answered.

"My Eternal Rival, are you certain of this? From what we've heard of the previous fights, these Oto-nin are very powerful and aren't to be underestimated. The first could create endless streams of poisonous gas that destroyed everything in its path, the second could solidify and manipulate sound to a frightening degree, and I shudder to imagine what this girl can do." Gai said to Kakashi.

Rather than simply blowing him off like he would usually, Kakashi answered, "Hai… I do believe that Sasuke can beat this girl."

'_I hope so, sensei…_' thought Narumi '_I really do…_'

**22222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222**

Sasuke jumped back as Kin rushed him. At first, Kin would punch and kick at Sasuke while he defended. Quickly afterwards, Sasuke pushed Kin to the defensive.

Kin reached into her kunai pouch and threw down several senbon to the ground, halting Sasuke for a moment. Then she threw another group of senbon at Sasuke, these had bells attacked to them.

Sasuke ducked under them and leapt at Kin with a pair of kunai, one in each hand. Kin suddenly smirked.

Sasuke's eyes widened in surprise when he felt his kunai hit not flesh, but something hard…

There was a loud 'clang' and sparks before Sasuke jumped back. To his shock, there were needles sticking out of the area he had cut.

"Like it? I've been _learning_ tricks over this last month with my teammates. Among them was this… I have the ability to have needles come out of my skin wherever I want. I can even have these needles grow other needles… I call it: Kaketon: Hada-Benso (Splinter Release: Skin Defense)!"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, "I take it that I won't be able to copy it with my Sharingan?" he asked.

"Hell no! It might not be a Kekkei-Genkai, but it sure as hell is a genetic mutation. This is the result of several experiments based on trial and error!" she scoffed at him.

"You mean… you were genetically modified to be able to fight like this?" Sasuke questioned, shocked.

"Most Shinobi of Otogakure no Sato are… we don't have some kind of special Clan, we rely on experiments like this. In the end, despite the several casualties, it ends up creating an extremely powerful ninja. My teammates and I are prime examples of this!" she finally said before grinning rather sadistically, "Now… Die!" she shouted at him.

She reached out both her arms and cried out, "Kaketon: Hada-Benso: Nui-Ceru Engi (Splinter Release: Skin Defense: Sewing Cell Expansion)!"

Her arms turned a dull grey before they stretched forwards at an extremely fast pace.

'_Shit!_' thought Sasuke before ducking out of the way.

Both arms impacted the wall behind him with such force that they left behind craters, deep impressions and cracks formed from where these needle-like fists struck. Then suddenly, from the sides of these arms, other appendages grew and launched themselves at Sasuke.

"My body is literally made of needles that can multiply in number rapidly! How do you get away from that, huh, Uchiha!" she shouted at him.

Sasuke continued to jump back before he smirked. Kin's eyes widened for a moment and she only had the chance to watch as Sasuke's eyes turned red and he vanished from view.

Suddenly, there was pain; it was excessively painful as Kin felt a fist strike her cheek, launching her backwards. Her arms snapped off like twigs and suddenly, all that had grown from her body fell apart and turned to what looked like dust.

Kin stood up and glared at the Uchiha as her arms reformed themselves with these needles.

"So that's it… those needles are only under your control so long as they're attached to you somehow. When I hit you just now, you were detached from those needle extensions from your body, these extensions couldn't survive without being attached to you and turned to dust. That's it, isn't it?" asked Sasuke with a small smirk.

To his surprise Kin began to laugh, oh how she laughed… "You think that's my only trick? Here's a secret, pal. Out of my teammates, I'm the strongest, Dosu's the smartest, and Zaku has the ability to switch between both. Gas, Sound, and Splinter… that's how we work, teme! Kaketon: Hada-Benso!"

Needles grew out of her body from every point until she looked like some kind of fuzzy animal. Then the needles continued to grow… they grew and changed formations until Kin looked like some kind of bizarre praying mantis. Her legs and feet resembled arms and there was a pair of arms growing from the space between her hips and shoulders. Her main arms, though… they looked like a pair of curved scythes.

Her long hair quickly reformed itself to become like a series of horns and spikes along her back and 'arms'. Then something truly twisted began to form, from her tail bone a long extension grew and dug into the ground, lifting Kin's inhuman form into the air.

Her face's features seemed to vanish before her head warped into something resembling a human skull with long, large pincers reaching out from where the cheeks belonged. Her black eyes remained in this skull to stare down at everything in front of her.

"Die!" she shouted in a screeching voice, "Kaketon: Hada-Benso: Joou Kamakiri Mori (Splinter Release: Skin Defense: Queen Mantis Forest)!"

Giant pillars of needles suddenly erupted from the ground and surrounded the area.

"At the tops of each of these 'needle-trees' there are bells, whenever these trees are struck, they vibrate and ring the bells. At that point, you get trapped in a dangerous Genjutsu that will limit your movements. There's more, while I cannot have all of these pillars fire needles at you at once, I can have a single tree fire a group of needles at you. Problem is… you won't even know which, unless you can use that Sharingan to escape becoming a human pincushion!" shouted Kin's voice at him, "This is my most powerful technique. There is no escape!"

Sasuke bit back a growl. She was right, on all accounts. He really was helpless in this situation… however, there was something he could do. It was risky and it would be revealing his trump card, the one advantage he had over everybody else, but it just might win this match for him.

**22222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222**

Kakashi looked at Sasuke unconcerned.

"Sensei! He's caught between a rock and a hard place!" said Sakura, "He's strong and all… but what if he gets hurt?!"

"He'll be fine, Sakura." said Narumi, surprisingly enough.

"What do you mean 'he'll be fine'?! He's stuck in there with a monster, how's he going to fight against that?!"

"With skill, Haruno-san." a voice came from behind the group, "But don't mind me… I'm just a helpless Ronin…"

Kakashi's visible eye narrowed, "Hello… Naruto…"

"Kin is powerful, this is true… however, there's no way that Kakashi would take his student, his favorite, and teach him how to twiddle his thumbs the right way. No… Hatake-san, you taught him something… something that could beat Kin easily – otherwise there would be no way you could be so freaking calm - and I get the feeling that we're about to find out what it is." he said.

Suddenly there was a noise, like the sound of birds chirping.

"You taught him _that_ jutsu!" spoke Gai to Kakashi rather forcefully, "That's… That's an assassination jutsu, Kakashi. How could you-?"

"You shouldn't be the one to point fingers, Gai. If I recall, I'm pretty sure I didn't teach my students how to open the Eight Celestial Gates." responded Kakashi.

"Gai-sensei, what's so great about this jutsu?" asked Chouji, speaking up.

"That is a jutsu which was once terribly feared throughout the Elemental Countries. You see, Kakashi originally created this technique before moving on to creating the 'Raikiri' or 'Lightning Blade' because it was able to cut a bolt of lightning in half before it could hit the ground. This jutsu is known however for this sound, the sound of a thousand birds chirping…"

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Sasuke smirked, "Chidori!" he shouted before running at a needle tower and striking it with his lightning infused hand.

It broke its way into the needle tower before suddenly, the glow that had enveloped Sasuke's hand spread and climbed its way up and down the tower. The bells at the top exploded into bursts of electricity being launched into the sky as the sound of thousands of birds chirping could be heard throughout the stadium… it was broken finally by Kin's unearthly scream before the towers abruptly turned to dust…

Sasuke stood there panting as he looked at Kin across the arena from him. She was unconscious having been struck with so many volts of electricity. Her clothing was singed and torn, but he knew she was alive. There was no way an attack like that would kill a girl made of needles… stun and knock her out, maybe, but not kill…

"Uchiha Sasuke is the winner by knockout!" shouted Genma.

There was no surprise in his expression when the audience burst into cheers and applause.

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"…When Kin used that technique, she essentially turned herself into a massive lightning rod. True, normal Raiton (Lightning Release) jutsu wouldn't do that to her as most lack the piercing ability of the Chidori. They'd simply disperse and fail to do any harm against those needles… But if it can actually penetrate those needles, then the current can be carried back to the source. It's shocking enough to cause her to revert to her original state." explained Naruto.

"Why are you even here?" asked Narumi after a moment's pause.

"Oh? Me?" he asked, looking around as though there was somebody else, "Well… I'm here to say something… That Kazekage (Sand Shadow) gives me the creeps. I don't trust him…" he said in a tone of dead-seriousness, "But hey!" he suddenly announced cheerfully, "What would I know? I'm just a helpless Ronin… Ja ne!" he announced before vanishing in a puff of smoke.

"It was… a clone?" asked Shikamaru aloud.

"Apparently…" trailed Gai.

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"Hmm, a pity none of those Oto-nin made it through. I was actually rooting for them once or twice," said the Kazekage to the Hokage, "What did you think, Hokage-dono?"

"I'm actually surprised that you weren't worried for your son down there." stated the Hokage after a brief drag from his pipe, "I would have believed that you'd have done something, at least…"

"Gaara-kun can take care of himself, Hokage-dono. He's too strong for an Oto-genin to defeat him. Better watch out, Hokage-dono. We may be looking at the most powerful Suna-nin in a long time."

"Hai…" trailed the Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, for a moment, "I suppose I should… By the way, how do you suppose those Oto Genin were able to become so powerful in such a short period of time? They easily became low to mid chunin level in only a month whereas before they were easily only genin level. I'm pretty sure that the three of them when working together would be more than enough to pose a threat to some of my own Jonin…"

"Anything is possible with excessive experimentation, Hokage-dono…" said the Kazekage in a vile tone, "Anything at all…"

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End of Chapter 14

You guys had better be damn grateful. I spent several days working on this non-stop to be my longest chapter yet. 7379 words, not including the Author's Note at the end, namely this.

Now, I'm sure you're wondering why there were three quotes. Well, I've decided that before every major fight and at the beginning of every chapter I'll have a quote. It could be a good quote or a bad quote, but it will be a quote never-the-less.

Now, at 11 pages in 10-point font Times New Roman, I'd like to send the following message:

Review…

Comment…

Rate…

Tell people about this fic…

And so on and so forth. Easy, right?

I'll see you all again on October 14th. Adios!

_**Forever Signed in Blood, **_

_**Slayer End**_


	15. Deserted

_Recap: As the matches of the finals progress, we see the terrifying strength and power of the Oto-nin. Naruto soundly defeats Temari and Narumi is able to defeat Hyuga Neji with little trouble. But now, the question remains, what will happen next? Gaara, Shikamaru, and Sasuke are able to defeat the Oto-nin but reveal their terrible power to the world. Will Narumi finally succumb to the might of her brother? Will Gaara be able to stand up to a monster worse than anything he has ever been? Will Sasuke be able to fight against a terror that strikes fear into the heart of all? There is only one way to find out… _

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_"When life gives you lemons, make lemonade, then go find someone whose life has given them vodka and have a party." Ron White_

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"Now for the Semi-Finals of the Chunin Exams!" shouted Genma as the crowd roared and cheered, "Sabaku no Gaara versus… Uzumaki Naruto!"

And with the sudden Suna-Shunshin and Naruto jumping down to meet Gaara, the volcanic eruption of the crowd turned into the silence before the storm.

"Hajime!"

And then there was destruction…

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"You think Gaara might win this?" asked Chouji.

"Perhaps… we still are unsure as to everything Naruto is capable of. He clearly knows all of Narumi's jutsu and is very skilled with that sword. His defense against elemental jutsu and his healing factor are also going to prove useful… and we've only seen a few of that right arm's abilities." said Kakashi.

"Then there's Gaara." stated Gai, "His sand-based attacks were enough to defeat an extremely powerful opponent. If I had to guess, I'd say he was about mid-chunin level power wise. But Naruto… I'm unsure."

"So… you don't know?" asked Ino in a blunt fashion.

"Only time will tell." stated Kakashi.

"Wise words my Eternal Rival!" shouted Gai.

Kakashi buried his face into his book before asking an age-old question, "Hm? You say something?"

"Ah! There's your hip attitude again!"

Tenten couldn't help but sigh.

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The first thing that hit Naruto was a wave of devastating sand. It was easily strong enough to crack a few ribs, but in only a few moments they healed. As Naruto stood on his feet again, the sand suddenly was flung up from the ground and struck Naruto's chin, sending him backwards and across the ground.

"My, my…" trailed Naruto as his face repaired itself, "Somebody's angry…"

"You killed my brother… then you killed my sister! I won't let this go!" shouted Gaara at him, "You… you are the only monster here…"

Naruto seemed to pause for a moment before shaking his head.

"You had to go and make things complicated, didn't you?" asked Naruto.

Gaara growled at the question and launched another barrage of sand at Naruto; this one was powerful enough to go straight through where Naruto's heart was. Unsurprisingly, it healed back rather quickly.

"You just _had_ to attack me with the wrong reasons… I hate ignorance. Now I can't kill you. I'll maim you and make you fear me, but I won't kill you… yet…"  
Gaara heard none of it as he brought up his arms, a massive amount of sand trailing into the air, grasping Naruto, and all at once Gaara clenched his hands. There was an explosion of blood as it rained down to the ground of the arena.

There was a light 'thump' sound as Naruto's right arm fell to the ground. Then the sparks appeared. The sparks appeared and bones, muscles, nerves, and, finally, skin grew from that right arm. Naruto stood right there unharmed from the attack.

"You know something…" he began as his hands performed a series of familiar seals, "I have morals too. I didn't kill your sister; I just burned her a little."

Six clones suddenly appeared around Naruto.

"It's a funny thing, but I hate being accused of a crime I didn't commit. She's still alive." the clones charged forwards, each of them wielding a sword, "Just thought you'd like to know…"

Gaara was quick to summon a shield of sand, though it didn't hold as the blades hacked away at it. Spikes suddenly appeared on the shield that lunged forwards, impaling two of the clones.

They vanished with a satisfying 'pop' leaving only five Naruto copies remaining…

'_But which is the real one?_' thought Gaara.

"Aren't you getting nervous?" asked Naruto, "I mean… you're fighting somebody who can easily kill you. But what would I know? I'm just a-"

Some sand erupted from the ground, grasped that Naruto's head, and crushed it in the span of a second. The clone vanished in an instant.

"Shut up." spoke Gaara in a monotone with narrowed eyes.

'_It seems that I've pissed him off…_' thought Naruto before grinning, '_Good!_'

Gaara leapt at Naruto at a surprising speed, Naruto barely had the opportunity to jump away.

"Found you." muttered Gaara before sand came up and crushed that Naruto copy.

Another burst of smoke…

"It wasn't the real one?!" asked Gaara to himself, shocked.

"That's the idea!" called Naruto from four directions.

All four Naruto copies held up their right hands… and snapped their fingers.

Then all Gaara knew was pain as energy left holes through his body. He fell to the unforgiving earth with twenty small holes in his body.

"Fire two!"

Snap…

Forty holes…

The arena was stained red as the real Naruto dismissed the clones, grasped Gaara by the neck with his left hand and impaled him through the stomach with his sword. Gaara didn't even have the energy to scream in pain. He could only grunt slightly before Naruto threw him to the ground.

"You'll live… but I want you to remember me by a little something…" trailed Naruto before walking over to Gaara and holding out his right hand…

"Fuuinken (Seal Sword/Fist)."

…And punched him just under the ribs. Gaara groaned in pain.

"That's where the Demon is, right? The Ichibi (One-tail)…?" whispered Naruto with a smirk, "If you… ever see him again, tell him I said hi…"

"…The… voices…" trailed Gaara before coughing up blood.

"I sealed Shukaku's spirit away permanently. Don't worry; you'll still have the power of the Ichibi, but he shall hold no control over you. Get it?" asked Naruto, "Think of it as a reminder that there is no force that can truly defy the Shinigami: The Rikudo Sennin fell to him, most of the Kage in the world fell to him, and even the demons shall fall to him. That's the way of the world. Now… You have every reason to kill me, so I'll end you before you ever get the opportunity."

Naruto brought down his sword to Gaara's neck… only for it to be stopped by a single Senbon needle.

'_Such control!_' thought Naruto in shock.

Naruto's eyes drifted up to see Genma standing next to them with a bored expression on his face. But Naruto could see it… he could see _that_ look in his eyes.

'Try it, and I will kill you.'

It was only a glance in Naruto's direction, but it was enough. Though Naruto knew this man couldn't kill him, he knew just as well that with that needle, this man could easily come close.

Naruto brought his sword back up and resealed it into his arm.

"The winner is Uzumaki Naruto…" trailed Genma loudly enough for the crowd to hear.

The paramedics rushed to aid Gaara before putting him on a stretcher and taking him away… he would share a room with his sister.

"How… depressing." Muttered Naruto as he watched Gaara get carried off, "To think that a helpless Ronin such as me would actually _over_estimate an opponent. Truly pathetic…"

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"He won." muttered Narumi.

"Of course I did." stated Naruto from behind her.

"What the- How did you get here so fast?!" hissed Narumi, before glaring at him.

"Foolish little Imoto. I'm a messenger. A shadow of the real thing, no more than a helpless copy of a helpless Ronin, a Kagebunshin…" spoke the clone, "The real Naruto made an extra clone and sent me up here to observe the fight from a distance and give him a little more perspective when I dispel. But also, to give you a message… You're next."

"Like hell I am!" Narumi almost shouted at him.

"No matter how hard you try, you shall perish. But hey, what would he know. He's just a helpless Ronin… right?" asked the clone to those around before popping out of existence.

Narumi glared at the spot the clone once held.

"The next match is Uzumaki Narumi versus Nara Shikamaru!" shouted Genma.

"I surrender!" called out Shikamaru, "I wasted enough chakra in my last fight. I wouldn't last a minute against Narumi-san."

Genma seemed to pause for a moment while the crowd whispered amongst themselves.

"Shikamaru! Why would you do that?" asked Ino.

"There's something going on here… I don't like it. Besides, even if I miraculously defeated Narumi, I'd probably get myself killed against Sasuke or Naruto. Speaking of… Narumi, be careful out there." warned Shikamaru as he turned his normally lazy eyes on her.

The droopy expression they usually held was replaced with one that held an unspeakable fire. A truly serious expression that would make a hardened veteran proud… it was the eyes of a friend concerned for another.

"…I will." spoke Narumi before jumping down with Sasuke.

They landed on the stadium floor…

"Due to Shikamaru's surrender, the next match will be Uzumaki Narumi versus Uchiha Sasuke!"

The crowd roared happily. It was a match they'd been waiting for… a true battle.

Narumi and Sasuke looked at each other from across the arena. Their eyes locked.

"If Shikamaru's right…" trailed Narumi as she looked up to where he sat.

Sasuke's eyes turned to the area opposite Shikamaru where he could see Naruto sitting with his hands folded, talking to the ANBU standing there, "…I know."

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"So, Kabuto-san, is it time?" asked Naruto to the 'ANBU'.

Kabuto's eyes widened briefly before narrowing behind his mask, "How did you figure it out?"

"I never forget a chakra signature. It would be like forgetting the name of one's own child."

"Are you going to…"

"Stop you?" guessed Naruto, "No… I want to… watch, I want to have a field of play unlike any other… I want a final battle against my sister that will be remembered throughout the years. Have your invasion, but the girl is mine."

Kabuto silently glared at Naruto.

(_Flashback_)

"Sasuke-kun lives for the sole purpose of killing his brother for the sake of revenge. He's a child that will never die, a child who will refuse to die at all costs until he achieves his goal. But when he fought me, he knew the risks. He knew there was no way he could win, yet he fought me with all he had. I never thought he would be the kind of child who would rush to his own death like that. Your information told me that his contact with the Kyuubi-girl has been changing him. The faster we tear them apart, the better… I must dye him my colors soon." spoke Orochimaru.

"And the other threat?" questioned Kabuto.

"That Ronin… her brother… I've looked through the Konoha birth records personally and it was stated that Uzumaki Naruto died stillborn when the Kyuubi's chakra swept through him and caused all of his major organs to instantly cease functioning. He was sent to the morgue without a second thought… However, his appearance has proven everything but the fact that he was dead. He killed that Suna genin with no quarrels then sealed the Hyuga heiress's soul and mind into his puppet. He destroyed two lives with no problems at all. If he fights Sasuke, I'm certain that he'll be killed. Furthermore, there's no doubt in my mind that if he kills the Kyuubi-girl, Sasuke-kun will transfer his rage from Itachi to Naruto. If that happens, several of my plans will be ruined. Luckily, we have something to kill Naruto with… the Oto-nin I have competing in these Exams. During the month of preparation, I'm sure we can fit each of them with an extra enhancement for two…"

(_End Flashback_)

'_But the Oto-nin failed. Naruto is still in these exams… and now Sasuke is fighting Narumi. If this continues, Naruto may end up fighting them both._' thought Kabuto to himself, '_It's actually somewhat… entertaining. Sibling rivalry… I can watch that over and over for days without feeling fatigued in the slightest. So go ahead, kill Narumi. But leave for us the Uchiha._'

Kabuto suddenly grinned, "Alright, Naruto-kun."

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End chapter 15

Wow! So next chapter Narumi and Sasuke fight and the invasion begins! Woohoo!

I know, this chapter's significantly shorter than my last, but hey, what're you going to do? I gave you a chapter three or four times longer than the norm last time, so deal with it. Tell you what, next chapter will be 4000.

Until next time! See you on October 24th! Ja ne!

_**Forever Signed in Blood, **_

_**Slayer End**_


	16. Good and Evil, It's Not That Simple

_"An overflow of good converts to bad." William Shakespeare_

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No one was sure who made the first move when both Narumi and Sasuke leapt forwards into action, all they knew was that Sasuke drew a kunai and Narumi her sword.

The loud clang that erupted in the center of the battlefield was deafening, but temporary as Sasuke was quick to use his superior strength to knock Narumi's sword back. He didn't see the kick to the face, however, and was promptly sent flying backwards.

Narumi smirked ever so slightly before frowning when Sasuke turned into a piece of rock.

"Kawarime no Jutsu…" she muttered before jumping up, barely dodging the incoming kunai strike, "Under me…? Damn, didn't see that." she said softly before swinging her sword down and swiftly chopping the kunai in two.

"You should have," said Sasuke before flipping backwards to avoid the sword, "Then again… I should have seen that."

Narumi allowed herself a small smile while Sasuke smirked, "Even with everything going on… this is kind of fun."

Sasuke sighed when he landed and shook his head, "How like you to think more about fun than fear."

Narumi shrugged before swinging her sword at Sasuke, forming a small cut in front of him. She suddenly vanished as the sword grew from the cut, launching towards him.

Sasuke jumped back to avoid being cut and was quick to leap forwards and bring out a kunai to knock Narumi's sword from her grasp. She swore under her breath and spun to the side to avoid being hit before forming a familiar cross-shaped seal…

"Kagebunshin no Jutsu!" she hissed.

Suddenly, a clone exploded into existence in front of her, kicking Sasuke back, while another clone formed behind her.

The second clone threw Narumi towards the sword before running at Sasuke, drawing a kunai.

Narumi went into a roll, grabbing the sword, before leaping to her feet. She reached into her kunai pouch and threw several shuriken at Sasuke, preoccupied by the clones, before running at him with her sword out.

Sasuke swore, blocking a punch by one of the clones, and grabbed the clone behind him. He was quick to throw said clone into the path of the shuriken, quickly dispelling it.

When the smoke cleared from the dispelled clone, Narumi jumped through and swung down her sword at Sasuke… who switched places with her last clone, sending it into the path of the sword that promptly slashed it apart.

"Shit!" hissed Narumi, bending backwards into a somersault to avoid Sasuke's kunai.

To his surprise, Narumi didn't even get up from the ground before spinning around to deliver a kick to his legs. Sasuke jumped over it, bringing down his fist and striking at Narumi.

She didn't even move. She _took_ the hit easily. Sasuke was less surprised when she spun back towards him like rubber and punched him in the gut… hard.

For a moment, he was without any breath before he tackled Narumi to the ground, jumping off of her, and landing behind her. Though he held his stomach in agony, he smirked in triumph.

"I didn't take you… for somebody who'd actually _bow_ to me…" he spoke with a smirk, panting occasionally.

Narumi's eyes narrowed, "Did I hear right… or did you just tell me I was _bowing_ to you?! I _never_ bow to _anyone_!" she almost shouted before running forwards, her sword in hand.

Sasuke paled.

You know, it wasn't really one of his best ideas to taunt Uzumaki Narumi like that… in fact, it was probably the worst thing he could have done because now… Well, they say hell has no wrath like a woman's scorn…

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"I don't pity Sasuke for pissing her off… Neh, Kabuto-san? So soon?" asked Naruto, looking to his left.

"Hai, Naruto-kun. As much as I'd enjoy watching them both beat the stuffing out of one another, we simply don't have the time and Orochimaru-sama's orders come first. We have an invasion to begin." he stated simply as he put his hand into a seal.

"Ah… I see…" trailed Naruto, looking down at the rest of the people as the feathers began to fall…

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Neither Narumi nor Sasuke were prepared when white feathers started cascading from the sky to the earth. Narumi was able to see several of the members of the audience pass out before she too began feeling herself succumb to the powerful genjutsu…

"Narumi!" hissed out Sasuke, "Stay awake!" he shouted.

Narumi's eyes flickered back open and she shook her head, "G-Genjutsu…?"  
"Of course it is!" Sasuke said to her, "Oto and Suna are attacking!"

Narumi spun to see that, indeed, there were several Oto-nin in the audience who were running at people. Striking them… killing them…

Already, the shinobi were beginning to evacuate. She heard a massive crash and her head spun towards the direction of this sound…

"That's… the North Gate?!"

"Shit, it looks like they came heavily armed. This isn't good…" he trailed.

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"N-Nani?!" the Hokage spoke, startled, "Kazekage-dono! What is this?" he asked.

"This is an invasion, Hokage-dono." He spoke simply as his bodyguards vanished in blasts of smoke as, suddenly, the pair became four that struck and killed the Hokage's bodyguards.

The Hokage leapt from the Kage box and landed on the roof of a nearby building with the Kazekage across from him, "We don't have to do this, Kazekage-dono… we can call it all off right now!"

"Oh, Sarutobi-sensei, you never cease to amuse me." spoke the Kazekage with mirth, "This is a plan for extermination and world war… beautiful genocide. By the end of this crusade, Konoha and Suna will be wiped off the map and only Oto will remain. Afterwards, we can take control of what remains easily."

"…Orochimaru… it was you all along wasn't it?"

"Who else could it have been, you old fool?!" he laughed out before tossing away the Kage robes he wore as though discarding trash, "My first order of business will be to eliminate you. However, I will need the assistance of my Sound Four in order to do this properly…"

At his cue, Sound Four, the Oto-nin who had been next to him only a moment earlier, leapt into action at the four corners of the roof. Rapidly, they made seals until suddenly a massive cubic barrier appeared; its purple chakra was vile.

"You will die today, Old Man…"

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"Zaku… Oh, Zaku…?" trailed Naruto's voice as he cheerfully walked through the medical area that was currently in chaos.

He looked down and saw the corpse of a doctor, kunai stuck out of his back like a twisted pincushion while the blood saturated the ground and walls.

Naruto shrugged and continued forwards until he finally reached Zaku's room where, not to his surprise, an Oto-nin stood guard. Naruto reached up his right hand and snapped his fingers before the Oto-nin could even see him, let alone retaliate.

The Oto-nin's head exploded everywhere…

"Zaku, wake up." spoke Naruto.

Zaku's eyes opened up before suddenly widening, "N-Naruto… I didn't see you for a moment… I…"

"Cut the crap, Zaku. Your job is about to begin." Stated Naruto.

"Job?"

"You never used your full power, now you will use your full power to bring down a few targets. Or at least… distract them for a moment."

"Who?"

"Just attack the women and children. It's a dirty attack that even these Konoha-nin aren't used to. If you use it, they won't know how to retaliate." Naruto said this as though it were obvious and actually _chuckled_ slightly, "I want you to maim them horribly. Barest casualties, alright? By the end of this, I want them driven to suicide…"

Zaku seemed stunned for a moment before he closed his eyes and smirked, opening them again. Naruto grinned at Zaku's clear lack of sanity…

"Where do I start?" he asked.

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Narumi put her hands into a familiar cross-shaped seal and suddenly cried out, "Taju-Kagebunshin no Jutsu (Mass Shadow Clone Technique)!"

Sasuke seemed stunned silent for a moment when, literally, a sea of red and yellow-haired girls suddenly appeared in the stadium.

"Let's kick some Oto-nin ass!" she shouted.

"YEAH!" roared the crowd of Narumi clones.

She smirked and some of the Oto-nin and Suna-nin paled.

"CHARGE!"

The clones took out their kunai and shuriken and leapt at the Oto-nin.

She turned her head to acknowledge Sasuke for a moment, "Come on, let's take them down!"

He didn't move for a moment before smirking, "With pleasure…"

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"Now… let's see, if I were a pedophilic Snake freak, where would I be…?" Naruto's eyes trailed up to the cube above the Kage box, "There you are. Now, where on earth is Narumi?"

An Oto-nin crashed through the wall and landed next to Naruto in a heap, "Oh, hello sir. How are you this fine afternoon?" asked Naruto to the downed Oto-nin.

"Shut the fuck up… you sick freak…"

Naruto nodded, "I see that the problems began in your childhood, tell me: Did mommy and daddy like tearing off your legs?"

"M-My legs are fine…" trailed the Oto-nin as he stood up.

Naruto rushed forwards and, with his right hand, grabbed hold of one of the legs… before promptly ripping it off. He repeated the action with the other leg.

"I'll take your sobbing and screams of pain as a 'yes' then. Mommy and daddy probably taught you not to lie, right? They told you that lying is bad, right? I don't like liars. So, let's play a game. I'll stop the bleeding if you tell me where Uzumaki Narumi is."

"M-My legs!" he cried out in pain.

Naruto nodded before looking out the hole, seeing Uzumaki Narumi fighting off several Oto-nin.

"I'll take your lack of response to my question as follows: 'I am actually a loyal Konoha-nin in disguise and I'd never sell out one of my own to the likes of you. I hope you die.' And as such, you will die like a loyal Konoha-nin." spoke Naruto.

"N-Nani?! I'm an Oto-nin! An Oto-nin! You're insane!" he shouted.

"Perhaps…" trailed Naruto before reaching down and ripping off one of the Oto-nin's arms, "But I'm not dead so…" Naruto reached into his pocket and placed a little sphere in the Oto-nin's outstretched hand, the only one remaining, before he began to chuckle, "Oh well. Ah, and I bet you're wondering what that sphere is, right? It's straight from Yukigakure no Sato (Village Hidden in the Snow), the idea is that… Ah! You'll find out soon enough. Just don't drop it or you'll trigger the others I've hidden throughout this whole medical facility."

Naruto walked out the hole the Oto-nin had created, "Ta-ta!" he said before vanishing in a Shunshin.

The Oto-nin looked at his last remaining arm in fear as it held the ball from Yuki. His eyes widened when the lack of blood and the pain finally got to him and he dropped the sphere…

He died less than a second later.

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Narumi was just finished delivering a kick to the face of an Oto-nin when suddenly giant spikes of ice burst out of the medical area before exploding in a mess of blood.

"Oh, silly me, I put too much acid and liquid nitrogen in it… My bad." stated Naruto as he walked away from the scene of death, "It's a good thing my allies got out before they could be hit by that, neh?"

"Y-You Teme!" cried Narumi at him, "There were hundreds of people in there!"

"I know." Stated Naruto before breaking down into laughter, "And that's what makes it so fun! The idea of having the power to snuff out human life like that is _intoxicating_! You should try it some time… if I don't kill you today."

There was a sudden burst of smoke when his sword appeared in his left hand.

"So come…" said Naruto with a grin behind his mask.

Narumi growled before jumping at him with her sword out, poised to maim…

He was swift in his retaliation as he swung his blade around to block Narumi's almost effortlessly.

"Hey," began Naruto like he was about to tell a child a secret, "Wanna hear a story? It's a special story…"

Narumi's eyes narrowed and she brought her sword up to chop of his head, there was a loud clang as Naruto blocked it.

"See, when the Shinigami came that day, there was a lot of chaos going on. My body had been hit with the Kyuubi's chakra as well as your body, you were the chosen host and there were no problems… the problem came from the resulting influx of chakra from the technique. But you already know that, don't you? You already know that the resulting pulse is what gave me life… what you _don't_ know is that this pulse had more than my life… it had the Yang part of the Kyuubi's chakra. You had the darkness, the evil, sealed into you while I inadvertently had the good and purity of the demon sealed into me." Narumi paused for a moment and Naruto took this as his cue to continue, "You see, no creature can exist for as long as the Kyuubi has without doing some evil and some good. Even the Kyuubi has its moments. You and I? We aren't Jinchuuriki, we aren't _true_ containers of the Kyuubi no Kitsune. Rather… we're both pseudo-Jinchuuriki. Each of us have half the beast's chakra inside. You have the evil, I have the good… the difference between us is that the evil grows while the good stays as is. Your part of the Kyuubi has a greater chance of escaping while mine doesn't. So, in a way I'm doing the world a favor by killing you, bitch."

Narumi didn't falter when she rammed her sword straight through where Naruto's heart should have been… should have. Even as the blood ran down his chest from the wound, she could hear him laugh.

"Foolish Imoto… riddle me this, how do you kill something… that was never alive in the first place?" asked Naruto as he looked down at her with red eyes that mirrored her own.

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End chapter 16-

Another short one, I know. Next chapter we continue the invasion and two will rise from the dead. Who these two are, well… you'll see on the 4th of November.

_**Forever Signed in Blood, **_

_**Slayer End**_


	17. Family Reunion Part 1

_"I'll kill you and bury you in a shallow grave! Then I'll dig you up and kill you again! That's the beauty of a shallow grave..." _

_"What is mind? No matter. What is matter? Never mind." Homer Simpson, the Simpsons_

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"Orochimaru… You will never destroy Konoha and I will never allow you to succeed in your ambitions. You… You monster!" he shouted at his once-great disciple.

"Oh? Sarutobi-sensei… you don't know what a monster is. Here, let me show you…" began the Snake Sanin as he performed hand seals.

A coffin rose from the ground with the Kanji of 'Four' on it. Then another coffin cracked its way from the ground they were using to fight…

A spiral? Why would there be a spiral on a coffin unless… No!

Then the coffins opened.

"M-Minato… K-Kushina… No…" he whispered.

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(_13 Years Ago_)

The Kyuubi's tail swept down and crashed into one of the walls surrounding Konoha. It opened its massive maw of giant, sharp teeth came down and smashed into the market district. Screams were heard at first while body parts of families were scattered to the sky and burned as they crashed to the ground.

Uzumaki Kushina, meanwhile, screamed. She screamed not in fear, but in pain. The pain of giving birth… It was excruciating.

"Kushina-san, your child… he's dead." He spoke to her.

Tears formed in her eyes…

"Doctor! We have another one coming!" shouted a nurse.

"Get ready! We need to keep this one alive!"

"My… My baby… What about my Naruto-kun?" asked Kushina wearily before screaming in pain, contractions already taking effect…

'_Kami-sama…_' thought the Doctor, '_She already named him…_'

"Send her boy to the morgue; we can't have a dead body here. It's distracting…" he said, sadly as another infant's head could be seen.

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Naruto paused in his attack on Narumi.

"Something… is very wrong…" he muttered before distractedly looking up at the violet cube where Orochimaru and the Hokage fought, "What are those coffins? Why… why do they feel so familiar…?"

Suddenly his eyes dawned as a glint appeared in them, Narumi didn't like that glint. That light… is felt so wrong, so… twisted.

"What? What is it?" she asked nervously.

Naruto suddenly grinned…

"Mom and Dad have come to play…"

**22222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222**

(_13 Years Ago_)

Another of the Kyuubi's tails made a grand sweep across the village even as the Shiki Fuuin was completed. This sweep held something… something powerful.

Something wrong…

It was at this time that a shinobi passing the morgue paused. He heard something…

He opened the door and his red eyes, the eyes behind his tiger mask, saw a small child. There was a baby crying on one of the cold, metal tables.

'_What on earth is a child doing in the morgue?_' he thought with slight pity, '_I'll… help him._'

**22222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222**

The woman with long, red hair looked left and right as she exited the coffin, "Where… where am I?" she asked aloud.

The blond next to her with spiky hair looked behind him with wide eyes, "Orochimaru… how could you? How did you do this? My deal with the Shinigami was clear…"

"I made a better deal, Minato-kun. Besides, desperate times and all that." He stated with a shrug, "Minato-kun, there is somebody I need to destroy."

"Sandaime-sama?" Minato asked with narrowed eyes.

The redhead suddenly caught on, "No! I'm not going to do it!"

"You don't have a choice, Uzumaki-san." said Orochimaru in a cold voice, "Besides, I didn't revive you to kill the Hokage… No… I revived you to kill your own legacy. Down there in the arena is a monster that needs to be dealt with. You two are perhaps the only ones qualified enough to put him down."

"Put who down, Orochimaru!" demanded the Sandaime.

"Why… none other than the helpless Ronin, Uzumaki Naruto!"

**22222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222**

(_13 Years Ago_)

The Tiger-masked ANBU was quick to run out of the village holding a bundle in his arms, a crying child. He looked forwards and saw a pair of merchants who were preparing to exit the village, probably to never set foot in it again.

'_Perfect…_' he thought before placing the baby into one of their carts.

The woman turned to look at him and probably saw his mask, but he was quick to Shunshin away… out of sight.

'…_But why do I have a feeling that that infant is going to do something… something horrible?_' the masked Shinobi thought before running off once more.

It wouldn't do to be seen near the village gates where there was little damage and not helping those who needed it.

'_Uzumaki Naruto… you are truly a mystery…_'

**22222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222**

Narumi's eyes flared open, "You teme! Our parents are dead! No questions asked!"

"Oh, they're dead. But Hebi-chan seems to have decided to bring them back. No matter, soon your Kage will be dead and I-"

He was cut off by a yellow flash followed by a foot smashing into his mask, knocking him backwards.

He dug himself out of the crater his body had made in the wall and looked forwards to see two people… two people who should be dead.

"Uzumaki Kushina and Namikaze Minato… the Aka-Shikyo (Red Death) and the Yondaime Hokage… Such a pleasure, now this family reunion can _really_ take place. Imoto, stay out of this. I'm going to have to kill our parents now."

**22222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222**

Hatake Kakashi, sole remaining student of the Yondaime Hokage, looked down to the arena as though he'd seen a ghost. His skin had become as pale as snow, and his heart skipped a beat or two.

"My Eternal Rival! What is it?!" asked Gai in his usual vibrato.

"Orochimaru has brought back… Yondaime-sensei…"

Gai went silent and looked down with fearful eyes.

**22222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222**

"My parents… these two are… my parents?" asked Narumi in shock.

"They should be dead, and they're going to go back to where they belong, whether they like it or not." said Naruto with a grin.

The deceased Hokage looked at the blond for a moment before opening his mouth and asking a question, "How?" he started, "How can you be alive? You were announced stillborn."

"As much as I'd love to explain how I came to exist to become the helpless Ronin I am today, I'd simply like to say… fuck you. Yondaime-sama, I see you not as a father, but a man who damned me to a life of _un_-life. I'm not really alive; rather, I'm dead in all but my physical form. Death is the only thing keeping me alive, ironically, but you… you had your chance. Now I'm going to put you and your whore of a wife where you belong."

"Naruto-kun! Please, stop this!" shouted Kushina, the redhead, at him, "We don't have to do this!"

"Quite the contrary… we do. Kushina-san," he took pleasure as she flinched backwards, "You should be dead, as should I, but I have a key purpose. You? You were revived by a mad scientist that will be put down today. I will be the one to put you down because nobody else can do it. My _sister_ had a life that I could have shared with her… but you two took that away! I want to be dead, where I should belong! But I can't be dead now, can I? So I'd might as well make due! She's going to die, but first… you two will perish." he stated, twirling his sword in his left hand as sparks crackled along his right.

Kushina took a step forwards before Minato put his hand on her shoulder, "Kushina-chan… there's no reasoning with him. And Orochimaru summoned us, we _must_ fight. There are no buts about this."

A tear rolled down Kushina's cheek, "Hai… Minato-kun." She turned her head to look at Narumi who stood behind her, "You grew up so well, Narumi-chan. I wish… I wish I could have been there with you…" her eyes turned to gaze at Naruto, "But Narumi-chan, please, go. You have friends to help; we need to defeat this person… If not for Orochimaru's sick purposes, than for Konoha… We made this mess… now we have to clean it up." she said as she drew a blood red sword, the blade that made her famous in the Shinobi world as being the Red Death, "You can understand that… hai?"

Narumi nodded once and turned before running to help Sasuke fight off other Oto-nin.

Perhaps it was because the Yondaime stood there, or perhaps it was due to the killing intent rolling off of the self-proclaimed 'Helpless Ronin'… either way, the stadium was almost empty by the time Naruto ran forwards at chunin speeds towards Kushina, fully intent on ripping off her head.

Minato vanished in a yellow flash and appeared behind Naruto whose eyes opened wide…

'_I didn't even see the kunai…_' he thought to himself as he barely had the time to bring around his sword to stop a blow from the Yondaime from taking place.

A red sword suddenly impaled his head from behind, going straight through his mask between his eyes… blood leaked down the smiley-face mask like tears as half of it fell off to reveal a whisker-marked face that could only belong to their dead son.

A dead son who at first held a shocked appearance as the Yondaime took a step backwards… his face quickly turned into a warped grin, "I'm not dead yet…" he said before taking his right arm, the right arm of the Shinigami, and spinning around to smash Kushina across the face, tearing it off in the process.

Slowly, he removed the red blade from his head with a sickening 'Skwick' sound and threw it to the ground, putting it a few inches deep.

Sparks appeared on the head wound, cleaning and mending it, as 'flakes' appeared and repaired Kushina's injury.

"In a fight between those who have died and those who never lived, who shall stand as the end approaches?" muttered Naruto morbidly as he looked at the Yondaime, "Your move… _Dad_…"

**22222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222**

Sasuke spun as Narumi kicked away an Oto-nin that Shunshined behind him.

"Where were you?" he asked.

"Sasuke… Orochimaru is the leader of all the Oto-nin… right?" she asked.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "Yeah… do you even have to ask?"

Narumi smirked as her eyes turned red and twisted chakra swirled around her, "I'm going to kill them."

She said it with such certainty, such honest _knowing_, that Sasuke couldn't help but believe her. The red chakra and slit eyes were a big help, though…

She vanished suddenly and appeared behind a pair of Oto-nin, they barely had the time to blink and turn around before their heads were removed from their bodies…

Sasuke's eyes went wide…

Narumi turned and leapt at a group of Oto-nin as they began to retreat and tore into them. They _begged_ for her to stop…

_She didn't._

The Oto-nin started to turn their heads in her direction and ran at her, each of them being cut down as they tried to avenge their fallen comrades. No two deaths were the same as some were either crushed under rubble before being torn apart and the rest weren't _nearly_ as lucky…

"Narumi…" whispered Sasuke in slight fear, "This…"

A pair of Oto-nin found themselves without arms as one was impaled by another Oto-nin's leg. The second found himself snapped in half.

"This isn't you…" he spoke softly.

Another Oto-nin felt the agony of being burnt alive by raw chakra.

"Stop…"

Intestines were torn from another's body, wrapping around his neck and snapping his neck like a twig.

"Narumi…"

An Oto-nin's knees exploded in a shower of gore and he fell to the ground. He tried to crawl away but was dragged back into the carnage, his rib cage was torn out and his last breath allowed him to scream in pain… and fear.

"Narumi." stated Sasuke with greater force, his eyes closed.

An Oto-nin had the _pleasure_ of his brains being blasted out of the front of his skull and vertical slashes from Wind Nature chakra inflicted all over his body.

"Narumi, stop."

Another Oto-nin was vertically ripped in half.

"Narumi! No more!" shouted Sasuke, his eyes suddenly baring the Sharingan, "Stop this!"

Narumi turned to look at him with red eyes he knew didn't belong to her, red eyes that he knew to be evil… and suddenly all he could see were the walls of a strange sewer.

He turned and looked behind him to see Narumi chained to a cage and in the cage… was a massive Nine-Tailed Fox.

"**Uchiha… I will pluck those eyes from your sockets…"** the Kyuubi's voice trailed, its booming sound resonating throughout the cage.

All the while, Sasuke tried his best not to scream in fear at the hell he had walked into…

**22222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222**

Naruto laughed as Kushina impaled him once again, "Go on! Do it again! You'll never kill me!" he whirled around and lopped off her arm with his sword, "You'll just give me more incentive to destroy you!"

A yellow flash followed by a kunai to the gut and being thrown across the battlefield followed that comment, he grunted as he smashed into the wall again.

"You two… you've had your chance. I never got that chance… I died before I could live… this is my afterlife, after this? Nothing, I will not be nothing!" he shouted, "I will _never_ be nothing!" wind began to swirl around him, "I REFUSE TO BE NOTHING!"

The wind instantaneously blasted outwards easily knocking both the Yondaime and his wife backwards, "You see this…?" began Naruto with a sick grin, "This is the Senju Legacy. I'm no idiot, Yondaime-san… You are, without any doubt, a descendent of the Senju Clan. The Namikaze was a family founded on the border of Uzu no Kuni (Land of Whirlpool) and Mizu no Kuni (Land of Water). It was founded… after a dispute in the Senju Clan leading to it separating, a fourth of it was left behind at Uzu and later separated into the Uzumaki Clan. You two… when you two came together, you practically rebuilt the Senju blood in me and my sister. There were side-effects, though. I may have an affinity in Fire, Lightning, and Wind. But I can only use Wind to its fullest. I can't use elemental jutsu, I can only manipulate chakra… and I can only utilize Wind elemental chakra. However, my ability to wield the wind is equal to my sister's. Anything she can do, I can do. Some things I can do, she can do better. I admit that much… but I know one thing is for certain… my mastery over the raw element of wind is unparalleled! You cannot win!" he shouted.

"Maybe not alone…" came a voice.

Naruto paused and suddenly looked up only to see a massive amount of sand.

"But perhaps… with my assistance they have a chance…"

Another redhead now stood at the edge of the arena with one arm up, he was panting and tired. Bandages covered his injured areas, but Naruto could already see telltale signs of his Biju healing him.

"Come back for more… Gaara-kun?" asked Naruto with a grin before all that he could see… was sand.

**22222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222**

"Orochimaru… You will no longer torture Konoha with your lies and evil!" shouted the Sandaime at him.

"And you think you can stop me? You never had a chance from the beginning, sensei. Never!" hissed Orochimaru in a snake-like voice.

Sarutobi gritted his teeth and performed several seals, the tiles they stood upon launched towards Orochimaru who easily countered with his own set of seals, launching a Katon jutsu that vaporized the makeshift shuriken.

When the resulting smoke cleared, Sarutobi was nowhere to see. Orochimaru leapt up just as Sarutobi emerged from the ground and launched a Futon jutsu. Orochimaru smirked and countered with a swift Katon technique of his own, following it up with a Doton jutsu to clear the smoke and knock Sarutobi away.

"This is your attack? Your attempt at besting me? Pathetic…" he trailed off as the Sandaime began performing a series of seals he didn't recognize, "What are you up to?"

"Your demise, Orochimaru and I _will_ take you with me." he stated with narrowed eyes, "Shiki Fuuin!"

**22222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222**

Naruto's grin vanished as the bandages covering his right arm suddenly fell to the ground lifelessly; his right arm was nowhere to be seen.

He took a shaky breath and his eyes turned to see a white-robed figure in the violet cube where the Hokage and Orochimaru fought.

"Shiki Fuuin…" muttered Naruto in slight fear, "Well shit. It would appear… that the Shinigami has another obligation to meet that supersedes my own." he muttered.

The sand that he could see didn't falter in its assault as it wrapped around him and lifted him in the air, "Yondaime-sama… if you would?"

The Yondaime nodded once before performing a set of seals…

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu (Grand Fireball Technique)!" he shouted, turning the sand to glass.

**22222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222**

Is this the end for Naruto?

Will Narumi bounce back?

Shall Sasuke survive the Kyuubi's onslaught?

Will the might of the Shinigami ultimately prevail?

…And what of Zaku, Dosu, and Kin?

Tune in for the 14th's chapter 18… Family Reunion Part 2!

_**Forever Signed in Blood, **_

_**Slayer End**_


	18. Family Reunion Part 2

"_A man chooses, a slave obeys." Andrew Ryan, Bioshock_

* * *

Zaku smirked to himself as he cut down yet another Konoha civilian. Some would say it was wrong to take pleasure in such an activity, but he… he thought otherwise. Finally, he had the power. Finally, he had the strength.

Finally…

He could make these people fear him.

"Oi! Zaku!" called a voice from behind.

'_Damn it… there goes that idea._' Zaku thought before giving a fake grin and turning around, "Kin! Dosu! Nice seeing you…" he trailed before frowning at the expressions on their faces, "Nani? What is it?"

"Orochimaru… he's fighting the Hokage." stated Kin.

"What's so bad about that?" questioned Zaku with a look of obvious confusion.

Dosu turned to look at Kin before returning his gaze to Zaku, even now still replacing the bandages on his body, "Orochimaru's losing."

Zaku seemed to pause at that for a moment before he smirked and began to laugh, "What's so bad about that, Teme! Orochimaru's finally getting what he deserves!"

"Because, Baka," began Kin with narrowed eyes and grit teeth, "Whatever jutsu the Hokage is using to put Orochimaru to… _retirement_ has left Naruto damaged. His right arm… it's gone."

Zaku suddenly went very pale.

"But didn't Naruto say that… his right arm belonged to the Shinigami?" asked Zaku.

"Exactly." Stated Dosu, "This means that the Sandaime has summoned the Shinigami to destroy Orochimaru… and it gets worse. Orochimaru has summoned the dead, the Yondaime and his wife, apparently…"

Zaku's eyes widened further.

There was a loud roar not far from him. Zaku suddenly spun to see where it came from. When he saw a monster with four tails standing over the Uchiha, he couldn't help but sweat.

…This couldn't be good.

* * *

In Uchiha Sasuke's life, he had seen many things. He'd been through a forest filled with terrifying creatures and dangerous shinobi, he'd had to fight against Zabuza and Haku, he watched as his family was destroyed over and over again… but he'd never seen something quite like this. He'd felt it before, fear that is… But, looking at the Kyuubi no Kitsune has a tendency of redefining fear, because right now, Sasuke felt a fear unlike any other.

"**You've been quiet…" **spoke the Kyuubi with a toothy grin, **"Are you… afraid?" **

Sasuke suddenly stopped shaking – he was shaking? – and looked at the Kyuubi with slightly narrowed eyes.

"**Hah! You are, aren't you? Is my mere presence so frightening? Or perhaps… there is another reason?" **the Kyuubi's red eyes turned to Narumi as she struggled helplessly against the chains that bound her to the cage's bars, **"While I cannot damage her, nor can I hurt her, I can do **_**this**_** to her. She cannot escape her own mind and now my chakra can take the rest of her body for a… test run." **

Sasuke gritted his teeth and glared at the Kitsune, "You won't touch her!"

"**Oh? Did I strike a cord? All I want to do is kill those pathetic worms you call friends with this girl. What's so wrong about that?" **

"Two things…" started Sasuke as his Sharingan spun, "One… Those people aren't my friends. Two, this girl is my friend. Let her go… _now!_"

The Kyuubi froze as it stared into the Sharingan eyes of Sasuke, watching as one of these eyes suddenly developed a third tomoe.

"**Those eyes… I haven't seen eyes as malevolent since Uchiha Madara… True, they aren't as advanced as **_**his**_**. But they have the potential of surpassing them… Uchiha-Gaki, you have no hold over me. I thus have no reason to help you… besides. My chakra is a one-way street. After it's released, it isn't coming back. Narumi is already expending four tails of my chakra, two more and I can take control…" **

Sasuke's eyes further narrowed before glaring at a piece of paper to Narumi's left… a paper with the Kanji for 'Seal' on it.

"It's that, isn't it? That little tag is all that's keeping you and Narumi separate, right?" asked Sasuke.

The Kyuubi was silent.

"…What if I were to-"

"**Don't." **cut in the Kyuubi, **"I don't know what you're planning, but you are **_**not**_** to touch that seal…" **

Sasuke's hand reached up to his shoulder, feeling his own seal…

"What if I were to… _tear it off_?" asked Sasuke.

The Kyuubi's eyes suddenly widened as fear seemed to enter them, **"Are you insane?! She isn't used to my chakra! Tearing off the seal could kill her!" **

"I get the feeling that you're more scared for your death than for hers."

"**She's too young!" **it shouted, **"To tear it off… I'm not sure of the consequences myself!" **

Sasuke's hand reached up to the seal and grabbed it…

"**Don't! I'll give you anything you desire! But don't tear it off! Not now! It's too early!" **

Sasuke gripped it tightly…

"**I BEG YOU!" it roared. **

Sasuke tore down his arm…

"**NO!" **

And there was a bright flash.

* * *

Naruto's eyes darted back and forth in his glass prison.

That last attack could have killed him… Would have killed him…

If he hadn't manipulated his wind to its fullest.

At the last second, he created a sphere of wind around his person to prevent the sand from going and touching his skin. Now that the fire was out, there was nothing to keep the glass sphere aloft.

He was running out of oxygen and without his right arm, that was rather detrimental…

Manipulating what was left of his wind shield, he burst it out in all directions. He smirked in pleasure as he heard something crack from the sudden release.

The glass sphere suddenly exploded sending thousands of sharp, wind enhanced shards out in all directions like deadly blades. These blades held more than enough strength to pierce steel…

Clearly, Gaara's shield was stronger than steel as it quickly provided a defense for him against the glass, Naruto noted, however, that the shield was put up under his own volition and it took longer as a result.

The glass, while it didn't harmlessly bounce off and simply got stuck in the sand, proved ineffective.

Naruto looked to his _parents_ and gaped. Yeah, that's right. He _gaped._

Neither one of them was harmed…

'_Even with the healing factor from the Edo Tensei, there is no way in hell that they would have healed by now from that attack. Kushina must have blocked the glass with that sword of hers…_' his eyes wandered over to the red blade she held, '_…While the Yondaime must have used his Hiraishin jutsu to find cover. Damn clever… I'm going to have to try harder. Still…_' his eyes drifted to the stump where his right arm was supposed to be, '_At this state, without my right arm, I'm easily chunin level. But these three… are out of my league. I mean, look at them! The Yondaime Hokage, an SS-Class Shinobi with the order of 'flee on sight', Uzumaki Kushina, an S-Class Kunoichi with a damn similar order, and Sabaku no Gaara, Jinchuuriki of the Shukaku… easily B-Class, even in this weakened state… The most I can hope to do is stall them and prey for the best because there is no way in hell that I can beat them like this._'

His eyes drifted finally to the violet cube…

'_But as soon as Orochimaru is killed up there, or that jutsu wears off… It's open season._'

He smirked.

* * *

Blood ran down the Hokage's mouth as the Shinigami tore Orochimaru's soul out. The Hokage couldn't help but manage a small smile…

It wasn't a smile in pleasure. Rather, a rueful smile. A… sad, broken smile… one of true sorrow…

The Shinigami slowly, but surely became visible to the Snake Sannin as he screamed in agony. It was actually painful to listen to. No teacher should have to listen to his student scream like this… no matter what.

'_But push has come to shove… Orochimaru, you have been alive for far too long…_' thought the Hokage with a grimace.

His eyes, however, widened when he saw something.

The Shinigami's arm… was missing. It was only a few seconds after he noticed this that it suddenly popped into existence.

(_Flashback_)

"…It is the glorious ability of death's right hand… After all, when one brings the right arm of the Shinigami into play, you can be certain that death will follow. It's just that simple…"

(_Flashback_)

"…My right arm… This is the Shinigami's right arm!"

(_Flashback_)

"…Seeing as this is the right arm of the Shinigami, it has total sealing powers. It has sealing powers so great, that it can even seal away the mighty Kyuubi no Kitsune forever. It can literally seal anything into a container suitable enough…"

(_End Flashback_)

'_It wasn't some performance of deluded grandeur… he was serious. That really was the Shinigami's right arm! But that would mean the Ronin, Naruto, had to have made a contract with the Shinigami…_' Sarutobi's mind spun with literally thousands of theories before landing on a single one…

(_Flashback_)

"…A Samurai Clan I knew _very_ well before its extinction at the hands of the Kaguya Clan…"

(_End Flashback_)

'_The Shikyomaru Clan… the Death Circle Clan…! He was trained by the clan that worshipped the Shinigami as their god!_' his eyes gazed over the Shinigami as he took firm hold of Orochimaru's soul.

"We had a deal, Shinigami! We had a deal! I give you a powerful soul, and I can use Minato's! WE HAD A FUCKING DEAL!" he shouted, desperate for a way out.

"_**Hai, Orochimaru, we have a deal. We still do have that deal… you're just paying now." **_answered the Shinigami with a toothy smile.

Bile threatened to rise in the back of Orochimaru's throat as he became frantic, "What payment! Naruto, the Ronin, is the payment!" he yelled.

"_**Whoever said that Naruto's soul would be your payment? I don't take used goods, Orochimaru. His soul is already mine; I already have a deal with him. I knew he would prove to be a threat to you one day… so I eagerly took this deal because I knew that I would end up with not one, but **_**two**_** souls as payment. I would finally acquire your wretched, corrupt soul from those dark bowels you call a body. As for the Yondaime's soul? Well… I don't like taking incomplete sets either. Throughout his life, the Yondaime separated his soul several times. I acquired the second largest fragment, the only piece of his soul left that powered his body. The largest part… well, it's located elsewhere. And I can always acquire those tiny pieces whenever I want, but for now, I will wait. A Corrupt Sannin and a Heroic Hokage… Student and Master… A beautiful reward… A complete set… Now, if you'll excuse me, I have been pulled into the fine print of my client's contract and would like to express my opinion to the court that my client has been wronged by this due to an unforeseen, under the table agreement. As such, I recommend an eternity of torture as punishment…" **_

Were the Shinigami's voice not as terrifying, the Hokage would have sweat dropped.

'_He sounds just like a lawyer…_' he thought silently.

The Shinigami's arm suddenly tore backwards, taking the entirety of Orochimaru's soul with it, and he promptly devoured it. The Shinigami's warped eyes turned and glared at Sarutobi.

"…_**Next?" **_

* * *

"I really wouldn't do that if I were you…" spoke a voice as Sasuke got up from the ground.

What was that? One minute, he was tearing off the seal. The next minute, there's a flash and he's smacked to the ground. What… what was that?!

"The Kyuubi is right; my daughter wouldn't be able to survive if you took off the seal now. But… it wouldn't either." spoke the voice of a blond man with spiky hair.

Sasuke got up from the floor and looked at the man, for a moment, a figure came to mind…

'_Naruto?_' he thought.

"No… you're not Naruto, you're too old. Who are you?" asked Sasuke.

"I am the Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato… or at least, I'm a fraction of him. I am the largest piece of his soul remaining, sealed into Narumi just for this purpose. Just incase the seal is about to give way." He explained.

Minato's eyes gazed up at the seal, "I see that the Kyuubi has been hard at work. This seal… is already severely damaged. I'm shocked it's still stable enough to contain this monstrosity." His eyes narrowed, "You called me something… Naruto, was it?" asked the Yondaime.

"Hai." Responded Sasuke as the Yondaime reached up to the seal and turned his hand like some kind of gigantic key… the seal quickly stabilized and Narumi fell to the watery floor of the sewer, her mindscape.

"Naruto was declared dead… This isn't right." he spoke with closed eyes, letting out a sigh.

"…You…" murmured a voice from the floor as a battered Narumi stood, "…Teme!" she finally shouted.

With a sudden burst of strength, she delivered a punch to the side of his face. He fell to the floor and slowly brought his hand to his cheek, right where he was struck…

"…All those years… you were my fucking _Dad_!" Narumi yelled at him, a few tears going down her cheeks, "And you never thought to let them know?!"

"Narumi… the most I could do was hope that these people would treat you as a hero, like I wished for them to… I see they didn't listen." he spoke remorsefully, "The reason no person could know of your existence was simple… enemies."

"Enemies…?" spoke Sasuke softly before his eyes widened, "Of course! During the last war, you killed thousands of Shinobi on the battlefields. Of course their villages would want vengeance upon you even if you were dead. If they found out you had a daughter… they would have _destroyed_ her."

Narumi's eyes turned to look at her father, still tearful, "I-Is that why?" she croaked out, wiping away her tears, "Is that why all this happened? But… why did you pick me to seal the Fox into?"

"Two reasons: First, as Hokage I could never ask a citizen of Konoha to make a sacrifice I wasn't willing to make. And second… you had some of its chakra in you. When the Kyuubi's power struck the Hospital, it poisoned Kushina in such a way that she perished, ultimately. Naruto died instantly. You, however, didn't get as much chakra from the initial strike and I knew you had the best chance of adapting to having the Kyuubi in your system." he said reluctantly, "I would have sealed it into Naruto… but he died. I had no other choice and I didn't have enough time."

"One last question…" spoke Narumi, "If you're in here, then how can you be outside my mind, fighting?" she questioned.

"Once again, I'm a piece of the Yondaime's soul. True, I am him, in every right I am the actual Yondaime… but at the same time, I'm just a piece of the whole. In my years as a Shinobi, more than once my soul has been split into separate parts. The second largest part of my soul that remained powered my physical body and was devoured by the Shinigami… if it really is my body that's fighting out there, then I believe that the Shinigami has been given a greater offer in exchange for giving the use and freedom of that part of my soul."

"You're… a part?" asked Sasuke, "What the hell could separate your soul like that?"

"…Hiraishin."

* * *

Kin, Dosu, and Zaku stood surrounding the four-tailed monster. They knew this would be a losing battle, to have to kill this thing that was wiping out so many shinobi, but then it happened… it was so fast…

The red chakra around the fox monster seemed to explode outwards, blasting them back. In its place was a girl with red/yellow hair that fell to the ground.

Uchiha Sasuke stood from the ground and glared with his Sharingan at the Oto monstrosities before him. Their Hitai-Ate… were slashed.

"Nuke-nin?" he asked.

Zaku smirked and stood, "We work for Naruto-sama now. And you're lucky… he demanded that he got dibs on you and the bitch."

Sasuke twitched but refrained from saying anything, to do so now… would be unadvisable. He was outnumbered, and these three didn't look like the most loyal individuals… they looked like people who would defy an order in exchange for giving in to extreme rage.

He couldn't deal with that kind of person right now.

"Where is he?" asked Sasuke.

"Naruto?" returned Kin.

"He's in the stadium. If you hurry, you'll probably catch him killing the Yondaime and his wife… that Gaara kid too, probably." said Dosu, "Good riddance."

Sasuke stood still for a moment, "But you're not going to let me hurry there… are you?"

Kin sneered at him, "What gave it away?" she asked sarcastically, "The fact that we serve Naruto-sama, or the fact that you're his enemy? He said we couldn't kill you. He didn't say anything about hurting you… Stopping you from getting to him is just a bonus."

Sasuke gritted his teeth. It was just one obstacle after another…

"Stand down!" ordered a voice from behind them all.

Sasuke turned to see a cloaked figure.

"Let him through… by the time he reaches Naruto-sama, the fight will already be over and he will be ready to kill these two… both of them." he spoke.

Sasuke looked between the cloaked man and the Oto-nin and decided to make a break for it, quickening his pace to escape them all.

After a moment, Dosu began… "Just because you're his right hand man, doesn't mean you can command us."

"I do believe it does." returned the man, "Or perhaps… a show of strength is in order?"

Zaku smirked and quickly threw a kunai at the man who didn't even try to avoid it. He stood there… and when the kunai went through his cloak to strike his flesh… it shattered and exploded outwards. Its remnants fell to the ground lifelessly.

The cloaked man then lifted his left hand, still covered by the cloak, and there was a 'pop' noise… A hole suddenly appeared in Zaku's thigh as he fell to the ground in pain and his injury bled.

"Your arrogance… will be the death of you. If you treat all your opponents that way, I wouldn't be surprised if you died within the next few years… painfully." said the man in the cloak.

"Alright, so you're a little stronger than us-" began kin only to be cut off.

"A lot stronger, actually. If necessary, I could kill all three of you… right now. But, Naruto-sama doesn't want that. You must live."

The cloaked figure turned his head to the stadium, "Come, we must go… we can get a better view of this battle and anything else that may follow from atop the Hokage Monument."

Kin and Zaku looked at each other before nodding and Shunshining away with the cloaked figure.

Dosu turned and gave one last look at the stadium, just in time to watch as a water dragon formed and crashed down on his master…

"…I really hope you don't die." he spoke, his form of saying 'good luck' and Shunshined to join his teammates.

* * *

A knife pierced Naruto's flesh, cutting deeply and striking him in the gut. Blood gushed from the wound and cascaded to the earth like a waterfall of red.

He couldn't help but cough out some of the viscous life fluid…

"That stings… you son of a bitch…" trailed Naruto to the Yondaime as he pressed the kunai deeper.

"I'm surprised you were able to escape Kushina-chan's Suiton: Suiryudan no jutsu (Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique). It was her favorite…" spoke the Yondaime.

"I noticed…" muttered Naruto, "But to manage a Suiton like that without any visible source? I'm sure the Nidaime would be proud…"

His eyes slowly began to glass over as he smiled, "But you know something…?" he trailed, "I'm not going… to die. Not now… not ever…"

For a few moments, there was silence.

Minato finally sighed and pulled his kunai from Naruto's body, letting his corpse fall to the ground…

Only for the 'corpse' to suddenly awaken and try to stab him with a kunai. The Yondaime took a step back just as some sand wrapped around one of Naruto's legs, crushing it, then throwing him into the wall like a ragdoll.

Naruto's crippled form finally could move no longer as it collapsed next to Kushina.

"Kushina! The final blow… don't let him recover!" shouted Minato.

Kushina turned and looked down at the pathetic form of her son, even as he struggled to breathe his eyes held some form of helplessness…

"…Kaa-san?" he croaked out as blood ran down and pooled beneath him.

Kushina felt her heart wretch.

"Mommy… please… what did I do wrong…?" he trailed.

Kushina's eyes suddenly went wide as she took a step back.

"M-Minato… I can't do it. I… I just can't do it!" she finally cried out.

"Kushina! He's manipulating you! He's-" the Yondaime was cut off suddenly as the barrier surrounding the Hokage and Orochimaru dispersed, shattering like glass.

His body, and the body of his wife were both racked with pain…

"Yondaime-sama!" called out Gaara, worried for his ally.

Naruto, even from his filth-covered position, managed a smirk as he stood. Sparks of all colors dancing around his damaged body as the pain faded away.

The final piece was his right arm… a violet, _evil_ arm that reeked of death yet seemed to lack substance as the black bones that composed it were clearly visible through its rotting, twisted flesh.

His eyes took on a bright red shine as an unholy aura of blood seemed to float around him, wrapping around him like a second skin. Deforming him until he looked like a blue and white fox figure with two massive ears and scarlet eyes, a right arm still dark and deformed sparked with terrible energy – How could the purity of the Kyuubi become as demented as this?!

He held his left hand out and beckoned his sword back to him, it eagerly reentered his grasp just as a new mask formed to cover his face, one resembling yet another black and white happy face. Then he spoke, his voice distorted with the warped power, mocking his opponents…

"_**Not so helpless anymore… am I?"**_

* * *

End Chapter 18!

Wow! So, let's get this straight…

There's a mysterious cloaked figure with strange, powerful abilities…

The Yondaime's soul has been segmented into several pieces…

The Yondaime and Kushina are now helpless as the Edo-Tensei has been dispelled and replaced with a second life, courtesy of the Shinigami…

Naruto has his right arm back…

Sasuke and Narumi are headed to the final battle…

And the next two chapters will resolve the sibling rivalry?!

…Yeah, right.

This is the end of Family Reunion Pt. 2… Addendum Warfare Pt. 1 and 2 will resolve Arc 1 and there will be a short Hiatus, unfortunately. My hands are tied then, so this is perfect timing, anyway.

I'll see you on the 24th! Don't worry about it!

_**Forever Signed in Blood,**_

_**Slayer End**_


	19. Addendum Warfare Part 1

_"Committee: A group of people who individually can do nothing but as a group decide nothing can be done." Fred Allen_

* * *

Naruto's grin was wide as he took menacing step after menacing step towards the Yondaime and his wife.

"_**The problem with this form is that I can't maintain it for a very long period of time. But I will be sure to make your deaths long… and painful…" **_

The Yondaime grit his teeth, "You…" he spoke in righteous fury, "You manipulated Kushina… how could you…?"

"_**I hate you both. That's how… manipulating people… it's such a trivial, simple thing. If I wanted to make a village bow to me, all I'd need to display was some fear or compassion. Isn't it interesting how the equals and opposites of things work just as well in many situations? I find it intriguing." **_

"So you manipulated her love for you?!"

Naruto's animalistic, sadistic grin widened further behind his mask and before he disappeared, he spoke one word… though whispered, they could all hear it.

"…_**Hai."**_

A sword suddenly went through the Yondaime from behind.

"_**I am not as powerful as you… but I am good at making distractions, **_**Dad**_**, distractions which work so well… you won't even know how to react when I run you through. This piece of your soul is going straight to the Shinigami…" **_

Sand swept up to strike Naruto but it was suddenly blown away, Gaara was swept into the blast and crashed against the wall as cuts formed all over his body, reopening closed wounds. He quickly passed out.

"Agh!" Kushina's red sword came down on Naruto who passively reached up his right hand and caught the blade.

Her eyes widened.

"_**Fool. You think you can kill me now? This… This is my retribution! Retribution for the sins you never tried to atone for! I shall make you beg for mercy even as I bury you in your bloody, fucking graves once more…" **_

Kushina was thrown backwards by Wind Nature Chakra and Naruto lifted his right hand to Minato's head.

"_**Any final words before your… funeral?" **_asked Naruto.

Minato stared defiantly into the warped eyes of what could have been his son, "…Fuck you."

At that moment, his entire body erupted in a shower of gore as it was pulverized from the inside out and back again, torn apart and spattered all across the battlefield – this place could no longer be considered a stadium.

His head turned to Kushina, _**"This form gives me great strength and speed… it gives me a shield that nothing can damage… it is the perfect shield and sword… but the most flawed time bomb. I have no control over when it will dispel. Normally, by now, it would have dispelled and left me with average skills… but for the time being, in this form, I am Sannin Level. From what I can tell, I have time for one last attack before I resort to my original self and as much as I'd like to kill Imoto with it… you're closest to me right now, so…" **_

He leapt forwards with great speed and impaled Kushina through the gut with his arm. The wind swirled around them rapidly, obscuring sound and sight from all those outside.

"_**I will grant to you one moment… one moment to look upon the son you gladly cast away to die. Use this moment wisely…" **_

Kushina looked at her child, her monster, and coughed up some blood before leaning forwards. With the last ounce of strength she held, she whispered something into his ear.

A cloud of dust entered the wind that surrounded them and dulled everything but what was inside… and when the dust cleared, Kushina was revealed to have been destroyed much like her beloved husband. The wind ceased and now Naruto stood in the stadium covered in blood, his eyes wide behind his mask from this new information… The cloak that covered his body faded away, revealing his original form…

This was the sight that Narumi was granted when she finally arrived with Uchiha Sasuke.

Naruto's wide eyes suddenly narrowed and closed before he shook his head.

'_Lies… Lies…! There's no way… it can't be the truth! She can't…_' Naruto's thoughts were garbled and warped and when he finally turned to look at Narumi and Sasuke, he was punched in the jaw.

There was a snap as it broke from Narumi's strike, which was easily super-human after having been hit so many times when fighting the Oto-nin.

"You… you bastard… you killed them!" shouted Narumi.

The sparks appeared and healed Naruto's shattered jaw, allowing him a moment of speech…

"Of course I did. I hated them, so I killed them. Now… you're next." he said simply.

Narumi gritted her teeth and took out her sword; Naruto spun his own in his left hand.

Sasuke's Sharingan eyes, meanwhile, looked at Naruto's right arm…

(_Flashback_)

He walked over to her and brought up his right arm before sending it down in a vicious punch…

When just as suddenly, Hinata brought up her palm and struck the hand, stopping it. Blood began to leak out of the bandages on Naruto's right arm.

"Gah! What the hell did you just do?! My right arm… This is the Shinigami's right arm! How the hell did you damage the Shinigami's right arm?!" shouted Naruto.

"That arm has to store energy s-somewhere… It was only when I realized that y-your right arm is actually one big t-tenketsu. And if I hit it… it would be destroyed."

(_End Flashback_)

'_She was right…_' thought Sasuke, '_But a Tenketsu of that size, it should be totally impossible for any human being to seal it even _with_ the use of Fuuinjutsu. So how did she do it? It's… not possible…_'

Naruto and Narumi rushed each other, their swords drawn, and clashed. Sparks flew and hit the earth below them as Wind Nature Chakra tore around, cutting the arena every which way and that.

Naruto smirked as his face came only an inch away from Narumi's, "You know… at this rate, we'll never find a victor. It'll be the same, pointless fight… let's kick things up a notch!" he said with a wicked grin and a demented glimmer in his eyes.

Narumi's eyes narrowed.

* * *

The cloaked figure looked to Zaku then to the clouds that had gathered over Konoha, "Zaku… Aim your most powerful attack at those clouds and keep firing, don't stop. Dosu, stabilize his attack with a burst of condensed sound."

Both turned and looked at him with questioning faces.

"Did I stutter?" he asked menacingly as he aimed his cloaked hand at Zaku and Dosu.

Zaku paled, knowing how painful this attack was in the first place, and shook his head, "N-Not at all, Cloak-sama!" He aimed his attack at the clouds…

The cloaked figure looked at Dosu and narrowed his eyes before unleashing a wave of Killing Intent, "Dosu…?"

Wordlessly, Dosu turned and did just as he was told.

Kin looked at him with a confused and even awed stare, "How did you do that?"

"Kin-san, fear is a powerful motivator. But there is no greater motivator than the fear of having your legs blown apart then being thrown from atop the Hokage Monument to the fighting below. Am I correct?" he asked.

Kin sweat dropped, "Y-Yeah…"

A single thought entered the minds of the Oto-Trio at that moment…

'_This guy is fucking insane._'

* * *

Though she couldn't see his grin, his eyes were clearly visible… as were their ill-intent.

"I don't know what you're planning… But I know I won't like it. So take this!" she shouted before spinning her blade.

A small cut appeared on Naruto's mask…

Narumi blurred and Naruto, at that moment, felt a splitting pain unlike any other.

"I've been burned alive, drowned, electrocuted, impaled, and thousands of other horrible things… but never once have I been granted the privilege of a sword _emerging_ from my cerebral cortex!" he shouted, "Fucking hell! It burns, damn it! It burns!"

Narumi blurred in front of him once more as his mask fell off in two pieces, clattering to the ground and turning to dust.

"You bitch…" muttered Naruto as the wound his head had suffered sparked and healed, "You… are going to pay for that."

"Not likely!" roared Narumi as she spun her blade around once more, "You're not the only one who's good with Wind Nature Manipulation!"

Several cuts appeared all over Naruto's clothing and the area around him…

"This is going to hurt…" he muttered before Narumi vanished and thousands of swords came out of the cuts to slash him, "…Damn it."

* * *

Thunder cracked through the sky as the clouds darkened. A light flashed from above and lighting struck the earth as the rain began to come down…

"You can stop now, Dosu… Zaku…" said the cloaked man.

The two genin fell to the ground, panting in exhaustion.

"There was already a forecast for rain by tomorrow. This combination of jutsu quickened up the process to such a degree, that rain would be the only remaining option." he stated simply.

"…That's nice and all… but why would you need it to rain?" asked Kin.

"It's not as much that I needed it to rain. Rather, Naruto needed there to be no sun."

Kin stared at him for a moment, "What could he possibly need to do that would require the sun to have gone out?"

The cloaked figure turned to acknowledge her with what she imagined to be a grin on what she could see of his pale face… Perhaps it would be best if she waited…

* * *

Naruto stood there for a moment, impaled by countless swords that suddenly vanished, leaving him to fall to the ground lifelessly. More than once he'd been impaled, but never before had it been as thorough as this!

As the sparks appeared all over his body to heal the injuries dealt, Narumi leapt away from him to join her comrade, Uchiha Sasuke.

Naruto scowled and glared at Narumi, "Is that it?" he questioned, "You aren't pressing your attack? I suggested that we take this up a notch. Well, I made it rain!" he shouted, gesturing to the downpour of water droplets, "What shall you do, neh? What is _your_ ability so great?!"

Narumi's eyes narrowed before she bit her thumb. They flashed dangerously as she swung her hand to the ground below…

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique)!" she called out.

There was a massive blast of white smoke and, for a moment, Naruto smirked.

'_Too easy… what she doesn't seem to understand was that as soon as Jiraiya removed the extra seal on her, courtesy of the late Orochimaru, I was able to once again know what she was doing at all times. A one-way communication network at my disposal… she thinks that this little summon of hers shall deter me? Well, she has another thing coming…_' he thought.

He moved his left hand to his mouth and… the smoke cleared to reveal a small, orange toad.

"Eh?!" shouted out Narumi in a rather… comical fashion, "Who the hell are you?!"

"I'm Gamakichi!" replied the orange toad in a child-like voice.

Naruto brought down his left hand as his eyes seethed with anger… no way in fucking hell was this his sister's trump card. Damn it!

He reached up his right hand, "No more playing…" he muttered before snapping his fingers.

Five energy beams, like threats, wove through the cascading raindrops as they traveled to their destination without any clear sign of stopping. Finally, they hit their mark with a satisfying 'crack'… no, _five_ satisfying 'cracks' that broke the air like a sonic boom. Naruto resisted the urge to chuckle and break down in laughter at his sister's and the toad's simplistic death as he barely had the time to spin around and block his sister's blade with his own.

"Clever…" he trailed, "How did you do it?"

"Sasuke's an expert of the Kawarime no Jutsu, I'm a master of the Henge no Jutsu and Kagebunshin no Jutsu. Add to the fact that you're susceptible to illusions; Sasuke just used his Sharingan to cast a genjutsu on you that made you believe you hit us. Normally, there would be something amiss with this as there wouldn't be any resulting sound or smell. With Kagebunshin I made before this fight and a pair of quick Henge techniques with Sasuke using Kawarime to swap places between me and Gama with the Bunshin, it was only a matter of deceiving you into believing that you'd gotten us." explained Narumi.

"And the toad?" asked Naruto, "I still don't see him with you."

"He's over there," said Narumi, tilting her head towards the stands where the people once sat to observe the fights, "And Sasuke…?"

"Is over here." spoke the Uchiha as he rammed a Chidori into Naruto's chest.

Naruto smirked as wind suddenly blasted out from the struck spot, knocking Sasuke back.

"Did you forget my ability already?" he asked, "Elemental jutsu… are virtually useless against me because of my ability. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

(_Flashback_)

"Tell me, Temari-san… How many laws are there? I only said one. Inertia. There is another law, the third law. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. When I'm hit with an elemental jutsu, I absorb it and it does no damage to me. That is the reaction and equal reaction. The opposite reaction is releasing an attack of equal force to what you hit me with… but with the opposite element. You hit me with a wind jutsu. Thus, I'm going to release the opposite of wind from every poor of my body except my right arm, seeing as how that wasn't originally a part of my body. So Temari… what's the opposite of Futon (Wind Release)?" asked Naruto in a sick tone.

Singes appeared on Naruto's clothing as the ground beneath him turned black. An oppressive heat suddenly appeared in the arena…

"That's right… it's Katon. And since my Elemental Affinities are Katon, Raiton (Lightning Release), and Futon: Any time I reflect an Elemental Jutsu with one of those elements as its opposite, it will come back stronger than the original attack.

(_End Flashback_)

Sasuke fell to the ground, clutching his now-bleeding hand.

'_Damn it! That wind… it cut my hand. This isn't good, I could probably manage one Chidori, but that would be extremely dangerous! I'm more likely to destroy my hand than this guy!_' he thought quickly, searching for any option available to him.

Narumi's eyes widened in shock before narrowing in rage, wind expelled itself from her body and knocked Naruto away. He fell to the ground and rolled across the dirt before getting back up.

Sasuke felt his own eyes widen, his own Sharingan eyes, as he saw Naruto take the brunt of the wind attack.

'_But why would he take that attack if he could not only negate it, but throw an even more threatening technique back at his opponent? Unless… he can't…!_'

(_Flashback_)

"Futon: Reppusho no Jutsu (Wind Release: Wind Palm Technique)!" shouted Temari before clapping her hands.

A massive amount of wind was blasted forth towards Naruto, launching the shuriken that were once imbedded in the ground.

Naruto fell back into a defensive position and took out his right, bandaged arm in front of him to deflect a few of the shuriken. There were a series of 'clang' sounds even as they clicked off of his arm.

"Is that it? I was expecting… more." spoke Naruto.

Temari grit her teeth before she began to create hand seals…

"You really want me, a helpless Ronin, dead… don't you?" asked Naruto with a grin under his mask.

"Shut up!" cried Temari at him with tears in her eyes, "You're about as helpless as a cornered panther! You killed my brother and I'll be damned before I let you get away with it! Futon: Kamikaze (Divine Wind)!" she called out.

Almost immediately a tornado of wind was sent at Naruto.

Quickly, Naruto jumped to the tree in the corner of the area just as the tornado struck. Almost as suddenly, more tornadoes formed and swiftly destroyed the tree, flinging Naruto out of it and across the stadium before he hit the wall on the opposite side with a sickening crack.

Blood trickled down from his mouth.

"Futon: Atsugai (Pressure Damage)!" she cried out before wind was blasted from her mouth at Naruto.

Several cuts appeared all over his body before his blood stained the cracked wall behind him in a pattern resembling a warped Rorschach. Was it an angel… or a skull?

Naruto slowly got up to his two feet as the injuries all over his body healed rapidly.

"Futon: Daitoppa (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)!" came another of Temari's cries as more wind came to smash Naruto against the wall again, leaving a deeper impression.

The crowd was silent as the dead…

Temari squinted her eyes to see through the dust that had been picked up from the most recent attack.

(_End Flashback_)

'_That's why he was dodging or taking attacks! There must be some kind of delay. That's why he waited! But… Does Narumi know this?_'

Narumi brought her sword down once more to try and kill Naruto.

* * *

Hatake Kakashi was known for many things. Some were good, others were bad. He was known as the Copy Nin to thousands, and a friend to a few. He was a Jonin, he was a Shinobi for his country and his village, and he was a soldier. But if there was one thing he wasn't, it was a coward.

He was not a coward and he would never be a coward. When he saw Naruto that didn't change anything, nothing at all… Sure, he was frightened. Yes, he was terrified that a person could be un-alive like that.

But the reality still stood that Naruto needed to be taken down. His students were possibly the only people who could fight Naruto, and right now one of their trump cards wasn't working.

So, with a jump into the air and the cry of 'Raikiri (Lightning Blade)' he came down with an electrified hand posed to kill, or perhaps maim Naruto horrendously long enough for Narumi to recover.

Even as he saw Narumi's blade come down and cleave Naruto's head in half, he knew it not to be enough. He knew he had to find a way to prevent this maniac from continuing his reign of terror. He knew he had to-

He was suddenly kicked in the face by a figure in a dark cloak and knocked out of the arena.

Kakashi, slightly dazed, stood back up and looked around for his attacker. His gaze at last landed upon said individual in the cloak. The individual with an animal mask…

"Kabuto…" trailed Kakashi.

"Orochimaru may be dead, Kakashi, but that doesn't mean I don't have priorities. Whatever Naruto is doing right now will be a big help to me in the future, I'm sure. I'd like to be on his good side for now. Distracting you is the perfect method." stated Kabuto.

"And what of Gai?" questioned Kakashi with narrowed eyes, his Sharingan spinning rapidly and waiting for Kabuto to make the slightest twitch in the wrong direction… it only took one wrong movement and he'd be able to destroy Kabuto… one wrong movement…

"I neutralized Gai with a special poison of my own design. It's temporary and should wear off in about an hour. But an hour is more than enough time to provide a good distraction against you."

Kakashi glared hotly at Kabuto before he smirked, "You forgot one thing, though."

"And what's that?" came Kabuto's bemused response.

"You forgot that Konoha Shinobi always have backup plans." Kakashi said before turning to water and falling to the ground.

Kabuto became frantic and began to look around, realizing his opponent was a Water Clone all along, when Kakashi emerged from underground to strike him, a Raikiri already recharged and raring to go.

"Die!"

* * *

Naruto was by no means a pleasant individual. But, he had a _very_ long fuse. Sure, he could be slightly pissed off or even annoyed sometimes. It was when he couldn't make this irksome thing vanish that he became rather… furious. One might incline towards the belief that he was downright adamant about ripping his sister's heart out with his bare hands in such an animalistic fashion that even the Kyuubi's darkest form would feel fear unthinkable.

Even as his head regenerated, he rocketed forwards with his sword in hand. When he felt a kunai enter his side, he was _not_ pleased to see one Uchiha Sasuke glaring death at him.

"Leave her alone…" he hissed out with terrible conviction, the conviction that Naruto would have expected to hear were Sasuke to find Itachi… but to hear this conviction over his sister…?

Naruto smirked, "No." he said simply before spinning around and delivering a kick to Sasuke's jaw that sent him a few feet up off the ground.

He was quick to pull out the kunai Sasuke used on him to his advantage and as a clever distraction as he threw it at Narumi, still charging with his sword. Narumi was forced to block away the Kunai and Naruto gladly took advantage of her open position as he thrust his sword forth to spew into her – That… sounded dirty.

What he didn't predict was Sasuke's intelligent use of the Kawarime no Jutsu as he swapped places with the knocked away Kunai and threw several shuriken at Naruto. His course altered, Naruto fell more to the left than originally intended and Narumi had the opportunity to cut him down across his chest.

Slowly he stood, pulling shuriken from the left side of his body.

"You two… are really becoming thorns in my side." He muttered loud enough for them to hear.

"Don't you mean shuriken?" asked Narumi with a smirk.

Naruto grimaced. Oh… she was going to fucking _die_ for that comment… how he hated puns… Quickly, he vanished, leaving less than even a blur behind as he reappeared behind Sasuke.

'_So fast…!_' it was all Sasuke could think before the cold and agonizingly painful sword that was Naruto's ran down his back, dragging and peeling away flesh.

He fell to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut. The blood on the ground and the feeling of a direct hit were all Naruto needed to know what he had hit was the real thing… it was no Genjutsu.

Uchiha Sasuke was dying.

"Always smiling… all the time…" began Naruto, "He never frowns during his rhyme. He is so young and acts so old, his humor's dark and twisted… and cold." Then he began to laugh, "You know, Narumi-san, I learned that rhyme from a few people in Kiri a while back. It was about a man who wanted to be a performer who ended up becoming a dictator. Oddly enough, it was a true story."

Narumi stood there, stunned, as the person she saw as a brother – she saw him as a brother, right? – fell to the ground and bled out. She did the only thing she could think of as rage overtook her.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" she shouted to the heavens.

Naruto's sick grin widened as he watched a massive cloud of smoke suddenly appear. And when the smoke cleared, thunder clashed and it rained harder.

Gamabunta, Boss of the Toad Summons, had finally arrived.

* * *

End Chapter 19

Oh! There are so many things I want to say! But what else is there to say other than that the stunning conclusion to Narumi vs. Naruto is on Friday, December 4th! At which point there will be an all-around 40 day hiatus to be broken at 4:44 AM on either the 13th or 14th of January. The 13th because 1 and 3 make 4 or the 14th because it follows my usual pattern…

Anywho! Until December 4th, I hope you're ready for a fight to end fights because I'm going all out on this! Secrets will be revealed, casualties will be unavoidable, and a cliffhanger unlike any other awaits at the end…

_**Forever Signed in Blood, **_

_**Slayer End**_


	20. Addendum Warfare Part 2

_Recap: _

_Previously, Naruto attacks with cruel acts of subterfuge against Konoha and reveals his total control over the Oto Genin. Orochimaru perishes with the Sandaime and Kabuto attacks Kakashi in an effort to distract him long enough for Naruto and Narumi's fight to reach an end. After Sasuke was brutally cut down by Naruto, Narumi fears the worst and with the Kyuubi's chakra, she summoned Gamabunta to help her defeat Naruto once and for all!_

* * *

_"The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated." Mark Twain_

* * *

Gamabunta surveyed the scene below him with omniscient eyes. To these insects, he was comparable to a god. He was a grand giant among giants and the greatest of all toads. But this? To be summoned to deal with a child no older than thirteen?

…Yeah, right.

Reaching his hand up – it is a hand, right? – he grasped the pipe he was smoking and took it out, his blue jacket fluttering in the breeze. The rain all around created a pitter-patter he wasn't unfamiliar with all across his skin.

"Narumi…" he spoke, "Why have you summoned me?" he asked after a brief pause, his yellow eyes trying but failing to see her perched atop his head.

"That guy, down there… he hurt my friends and nothing I throw at him works. Please, you've gotta help my Boss Toad!" she pleaded.

Gamabunta took a puff of smoke from his pipe and exhaled it.

"That guy down there… he isn't even human!" she exclaimed.

'_You're one to talk, Gaki…_' thought Gamabunta as he turned his gaze down to the offending individual.

Everything about him seemed normal. A child, no more and no less… albeit it was a child that appeared to have greater strength. But why…? Ah, there was the reason. His right arm.

'_That used to belong to the Shinigami… Oh, I see. That damned lawyer of death made another contract, didn't he? Well fuck…_' his eyes once again went to Narumi, '_The Shinigami is not the friend of I nor any other summon animal in existence… but we know we cannot kill him, as much as we'd like to. But, we could meddle in certain affairs if we have probable cause._' He felt his eye twitch, '_Probable cause… which I lack. I can't say that I was summoned to destroy him, no; I need a reason to meddle with the Shinigami's affairs far greater than that. But what?_'

"Ah, come on, Dad! Help her out a little." spoke a younger voice.

"Eh, Gamakichi?! I thought you were somewhere safe!" spoke Narumi with genuine surprise.

"Well I was, till that guy came and attacked me!" called Gamakichi as he pointed an accusing finger – it's… a finger, right? – at Naruto, the blond boy, the Ronin.

"He did what?" asked Gamabunta calmly though inside he boiled with rage… and excitement, '_Nobody attacks my son! And now that I have probable cause, that being a direct attack against my family, I can crush this whelp where he stands!_'

Yeah… you don't screw with the toads under risk of them smacking you down like the hand of Kami herself, and Kami is a frightening being indeed…

Naruto smirked and held up his right hand before turning it so his forearm faces the toad's… hand.

"Shiyoroi (Death Shield)." He murmured as his facial expressions became schooled.

The 'hand' was not stopped and struck the earth below so hard it left a crater. Thing is, when the hand retracted, instead of a pulverized Naruto crushed by the pressure, there he stood with a strange shield having grown out of his right forearm.

"Like it?" he asked quietly, "The right arm of the Shinigami has only one defensive capability. It absorbs any attack in this form, no matter how great and powerful. The more you attack it, the stronger a defense it becomes. That's all there is to it. Problem is… it's clunky and hard to move around with. It can't spread over my body and it mostly takes up space. Still… it served its purpose." he explained as his right arm morphed back into the humanoid shape it was originally, "Now… allow me the pleasure of showing you a _real_ summon…"

He bit his left thumb and gave it no time to heal before making several seals and plunging it into the ground.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

And with a massive burst of smoke that was quickly washed away with the rain, thunder clapped once more as lightning struck where Naruto once stood. And there he was now, atop a giant winged creature resembling some kind of cross between a cobra and a griffon…

"Fear the awesome might… of my summon killers. The greatest treasure of the Shikyomaru Clan… their anti-summon wards… the Gargoyles…"

* * *

Kakashi was quick to use his kunai to block Kabuto's own as they glared deeply into each other's very souls…

Kakashi's red eye spun as it focused on every one of Kabuto's attacks, but it couldn't seem to do anything to him!

"Surprised, Kakashi?" asked Kabuto, "Don't be. Among the few jutsu the Sharingan cannot copy, there is the ever-elusive Iryojutsu. My Medical Techniques cannot be replicated by your eye. But your jutsu… Though you may hold knowledge of over a thousand jutsu, you're low on chakra and let's face it, there are only so many of those jutsu you can perform…" he trailed with a smirk before adjusting his glasses into a more comfortable position.

"Kabuto," began Kakashi, "If there's anything you should know, it's that the Sharingan is _not_ my only tool." He reached back and pulled out a scroll, "While I was looking around for a present for Little Narumi on her birthday, I tried going to a blacksmith to make a sword for her. Turns out, it cost less money to repair a sword than it does to make one from scratch…" the scroll burst apart into smoke and revealed a sword just as white chakra lit it up like a roman candle, "My father's sword… it should be more than enough against the likes of you."

Then he vanished in a shocking display of speed, reappearing behind Kabuto with his blade. Kabuto's eyes widened just in time to get a full glimpse at the tool that nearly impaled his head… _nearly_. In the end, Kabuto was faster than the Legacy of the White Fang if only by a smidgen and if only in desperation… but it was enough so that only a few strands of his hair fell to the ground.

Kabuto's eyes narrowed, "A sword? That seems to be the trend nowadays…" he smiled, "In that case, I'm sure Orochimaru-sama wouldn't mind if I used this. He's dead, after all." Reaching back, he grasped a scroll of his own, "Orochimaru-sama… was a paranoid individual. He was aware that eventually he would come across an opponent who could find the weakness of drawing a poisonous sword from their own throat. Thus, he created these scrolls. In the event that he couldn't draw Kusanagi the old fashioned way, he'd simply unseal it through these scrolls. He only made three… one was destroyed in the Forest of Death to be used as a decoy scroll to pass the test. The second was incinerated in his battle with the Sandaime… and I hold the third." said scroll burst open in a display of white smoke before revealing a sword… a sword Kakashi was all too familiar with… Kusanagi…

He stared at it for a moment with horror before steeling himself for the fight to come, "Well then… let us see whose blade is the more powerful. The blade of poison or the blade of white chakra…" he trailed.

They blurred into action only a moment later.

* * *

"The Shikyomaru Clan was known for many things, Narumi… they were most famous for their ability to slay hundreds of shinobi. They finally reached their end fighting against the Kaguya Clan, but even _they_ admitted before their final moments that it was hard. Very hard, indeed… The Shikyomaru Clan was most famous for two things. The first being their swords and sword style, a unique brand of Kenjutsu that could rival the founders of Uzu no Kuni before its destruction and the second being the Gargoyles. At first glance, they are giant statues that are perched on every rooftop and building, in gardens and rooms, on desks and surfaces… statues of large and small. But when the darkness fell and the Ultraviolet radiation given off by the sun was less apparent, the Gargoyles suddenly came to life." Explained Naruto with a grin, "The Shikyomaru Clan ultimately devised a way to create a Summoning Contract with the Gargoyles, but they could only come out when there was no sun. In the night… or in the rain… you see Narumi; I gambled with Mother Nature and won. I have made it rain with the help of my new subordinates and now you face the most powerful of all the Gargoyles. The Gargoyle that gave them the name 'Summon Killers', he is Shikyomaru, the deity the clan was named after, and his wrath is supreme."

Gamabunta observed the giant monster he was to fight against. Its upper-body looked very much like it belonged to a griffon while its lower part was a giant cobra.

"The Gargoyle takes the form that its enemy Summon would have the most trouble fighting against. In this case, a snake-like creature with the ability to fly and bite from multiple directions…"

The Gargoyle Monster, Shikyomaru, leapt forwards in a display of speed and displayed his claws and mighty griffon beak to the world as it took flight and constricted the Toad Boss with its serpent part. Gamabunta retaliated with his dagger as his sliced off the serpent head. To his shock, from the base of the cut, two more heads grew from its place.

"The King Cobra is easily the most dangerous of all snakes… its venom is incurable and it can even spit it at you. The Hydra was a serpent that would spawn two heads from wherever the previous head was severed. The Griffon was a great hawk-like beast that could fly to the heavens… taking human lives with it." Naruto's smirk grew as Gamabunta hopped out of the Gargoyle's hold, "Hell awaits your timely arrival, Foolish Imoto…"

* * *

"Boss Toad!" shouted Narumi.

"What!" it roared back.

"We're in the village and right now we're doing more harm than good by just jumping around. Naruto's smart, but he might not think about us leaving the village!"

"Lure him out? Not a bad plan. But what is my compensation for playing bait?"

"The pleasure of dismembering that fucking statue and my prick of a brother." she answered plainly with a slight smirk.

Gamabunta barely suppressed a shudder… She sounded just like Naruto…

* * *

Naruto's eyes followed the giant toad as it made a great leap across the battlefield and out of the village.

"So they're trying to get me out of the village? Fine, I'll play that game…" muttered Naruto before the Gargoyle took flight after the toad.

It was when Naruto left that the stadium they had been fighting in became the scene of yet another battle when Kabuto was suddenly blasted through the wall.

Slowly, he got up and brandished Kusanagi.

"That attack… was unexpected, Hatake." spoke Kabuto with a small smirk, "I won't forget it."

"You won't live to see it again, Traitor." Kakashi shot back angrily as white chakra swirled around him and his Sharingan spun ever-faster.

"Don't be so sure…" stated Kabuto, his voice trailing as his injuries closed, "Kakashi, you need to kill me in one shot or I will heal… no matter what. Even decapitation is insufficient if it doesn't kill me instantly, only a strike to the heart will end my life… something which I won't allow you the chance to have."

Kakashi's eyes narrowed, "Kabuto… you'd be best not to underestimate me."

"I'll remember to write those words on your grave, Hatake."

Their swords clashed once more.

* * *

There was a soft grunt as Sasuke roused himself awake, hearing the clashes of blades. His eyes wandered around in an unfocused manner before he saw Kabuto and Kakashi only a few feet away from him.

Did he pay attention to what they were saying to each other? No. He was more amazed that he was alive. Then again, Naruto's sword wasn't made to kill… it was made to inflict pain. Even this lethal blow to his heart wasn't instant death. He probably still had an hour left, judging by his chakra levels. Knowing Narumi, she probably assumed the worst.

Sasuke grimaced. That was bad. He couldn't let Narumi reenter the Kyuubi state like she did before, he might not be there to save her this time around and he could let his best friend die to that demon. What kind of friend would he be if he allowed that? Not a good one, certainly.

His eyes reactivated their Sharingan as he leapt to the top of the stadium. He held back a gasp.

Destruction was everywhere… Was this what it meant to be invaded? Mass casualty everywhere he looked? It was…

"Terrible?" came a weary voice, "I know."

"Gaara?" asked Sasuke turning around to see the beaten and battered redhead.

"Naruto is… a dangerous one. He has successfully defeated me several times now. Though I suppose I deserve _some_ credit for not being unconscious for too long. Even the injuries I recently sustained against him are healing, albeit slower than I'd like them to heal, but they're healing never-the-less."

"What do you want?" asked Sasuke slightly defensive; it was Gaara's home that was invading his village, after all.

"I want… to end this. Sasuke… help Narumi, she needs you right now. I'll stop this… invasion."

"And how do you intend on doing that?" questioned the Uchiha.

"By the only way I know. I'm going to scare the Suna-nin away from here and kill every Oto-nin I come across."

"And here I thought you changed."

"I did. It's just that knowing Orochimaru was the leader of Otogakure is a bit of a turn-off of letting these people live. Now go, Sasuke. Help Narumi. Kill Naruto. Go… Now!"

Sasuke hesitated for a moment, watching as a trickle of blood found its way down from Gaara's hairline. He nodded and left. Just barely, he missed Gaara's small smile.

'_Kaa-san…_' he thought to the skies, '_For what I've done… Gomen na sai…_'

And in that moment he entered his mind to stare face-to-face at the demon that had caused all his suffering.

"Ichibi!" he called, "I have a deal to make with you…"

Its golden eyes narrowed.

"_**I'm listening, Gaki…" **_

"How would you like to temporarily be free? If there's anything I know about seals, it is that they are never permanent. That tag on the cage…" he gestured silently to the sandstone cage that held the Ichibi in this massive desert oasis that was his mind, more specifically, the tag on the cage, "If I tear off a corner, will it allow you a form of freedom?"

"_**You're talking my language, boy!" **_laughed the Ichibi gleefully, _**"My only desire is to destroy these pathetic Ningen (Humans)."**_

"If you kill only those that wear Oto-Hitai-Ate… I will grant you freedom for a temporary time period. Deal?" questioned Gaara.

He could only smirk as the Ichibi pondered this. A demon was bound to whatever deal it made, no matter how large or small. A demon could never lie, only tell what it believed was the truth. And a demon could never be killed. The Ichibi, not being able to be killed, had all the time in the world and would decide what to do with it. Unlike other demons, however, he'd yet to make a deal with a mortal. Even Kyuubi had made a deal with a mortal! But Ichibi? Hell no.

However… there was a first time for everything.

"_**I'll do it." **_

* * *

Naruto's maniacal gaze swept over the scene below him like a ravenous hawk preparing to tear into a small mouse. Finally, the Gargoyle landed near the toad and glared at it, preparing to make a meal of some kind.

Naruto stood atop its head and gave a smile to Narumi.

"Smart of you to take me out of Konoha, no civilians… just how I like it." stated Naruto.

"I thought you didn't care about collateral damage…" trailed Narumi.

"Oh no, I care… sometimes. See, there are civilians who _should_ die and civilians who _shouldn't_ die. Now, while I'm all for mindless slaughter, there are times that just doesn't do. This is one of those times. I have a goal in mind, and that goal is killing you and leaving with a smile. No more… no less…"

Narumi's eyes narrowed, "Yeah, right. We both know you want to kill everybody you come across. That's just how you are!"

Naruto paused for a moment before smirking, "And how did you figure that out?" he questioned, "Or are we more brother and sister than I thought? Perhaps… you and I are more alike than initially believed. We can end this, you know. We'd never have to fight again and I could give you a family..." he smiled, "You could join me.

Narumi took a step back and sputtered for a moment, "N-Nani?!" she hissed almost silently.

"A brother… what would you give for a family that loved you?" he continued, smiling all the while.

Narumi started to hyperventilate, '_Just say no._' she thought to herself silently, '_It's not that hard… is it?_'

Her eyes came up and looked at Naruto's face, her heart clenched. Yeah… it was that hard. What she would give for the love of a brother. A person who truly cared for her…

Her eyes widened when she took a closer look at Naruto's smile, his supposedly sincere smile…

Her eyes narrowed with hate suddenly, "You bastard… you're lying. You'll just kill me. Or make me wish I was dead… you'll make me go with your ideals… Never… I'll _never_ join you!" she shouted at him defiantly.

Naruto paused and his smile faded, "So you saw through that, huh? Very well. I guess I'll just have to kill you." he shrugged nonchalantly, "I was serious about my offer… but I suppose it's your loss."

The Gargoyle leapt forwards and its claws slashed at Gamabunta, repeatedly he blocked with his dagger. The Gargoyle's cobra tails suddenly spun to face the Toad boss before opening and firing venom at him. The Toad leapt back to avoid the attack but couldn't help but notice the massive amount of steam rising from where the venom landed.

'_So the venom's acidic?_' he observed, '_Wonderful…_'

His eyes narrowed. Gargoyles… from what he'd heard…

(_Flashback_)

"But when the darkness fell and the Ultraviolet radiation given off by the sun was less apparent, the Gargoyles suddenly came to life."

(_End Flashback_)

His eyes widened, "Narumi… he made it rain so the sun wouldn't turn his Gargoyle to stone. You're good at Wind Manipulation, right?" he questioned.

Narumi nodded.

"Try getting rid of the clouds. If even _one_ ray of sunlight gets on that statue… it'll be petrified and we can destroy it!"

Narumi grinned, "Nice. But…" she frowned, "I'm not as good as Naruto. The last time I actually used my Wind Manipulation in combat was today… and that was the first time. It was barely enough to hold back Naruto's strikes. But blow away a storm…? Come on…"

"Look at the clouds," he stated, "You were right to get him out of Konoha to keep it safe… well, safer. But the rain is entirely focused over Konoha. The further away from Konoha the less clouds and the more likely we'll come across sunlight. Your Wind Manipulation can help propel me a little further."

Narumi furrowed her brow in thought, "Right… that works."

And so the toad hopped… and the Gargoyle followed.

* * *

Have you ever attempted to follow a pair of giant Summon Animals miles on end and not feel exhausted? Uchiha Sasuke has. And take it from him, not even a Kage-level Shinobi is capable of running like that non-stop for an excessively long period of time.

But here Sasuke was, trying to do run as fast as he could to catch up with Naruto and Narumi. It was… terrible. His lungs were in more pain than his injuries. There was almost no greater torture… Kami-sama! Why couldn't he just die already!

Why- Oh, wait, he finally made it. That's a good sign, now he could happily rest against the nearest tree. Such a nice tree… so tired…

* * *

End Chapter 20…

Ha! I'm evil, aren't I? I promised you that I'd end this arc at this chapter. It was a lie. Nah, next update, that'll happen. 40 days later, I'll update on 4:44 AM. That's all there is to it.

So, I'll see you again on the 14th with Part 3 of this unique saga. And don't worry, _that_ will be the end of Arc 1…

Kami, I'm so evil.

Ja ne!

_**Forever Signed in Blood, **_

_**Slayer End**_


	21. Addendum Warfare Part 3

_"Failure is only the opportunity to begin again, only this time more wisely." Henry Ford_

* * *

Have you ever had one of _those_ days? You know. The kind of day where you feel that nothing seems to be going the way you expected it to? Like… Getting up to do a presentation and expecting applause only to be laughed at, or attending a funeral service and taking note that everybody's in bright colors and laughing like it's some kind of party?

Yeah… Naruto was having one of _those_ days. The days where everything seems to be going wrong…

Naruto didn't have any idea on where to start, honestly. He didn't know where to begin on how awful his day had become in so short a period of time as he navigated through an unknown forest, trying to find something to freaking _wear_.

* * *

(_Earlier_)

Naruto smirked happily as his summon began to get the upper hand against Gamabunta.

"That's right Shikyomaru… kill him… Kill those two. Show them our wrath!" he shouted before laughing hysterically.

The Gargoyle gave no response as it was tackled to the ground by Gamabunta, his dagger having pinned the two Cobra heads to the ground.

'_Smart… if he went ahead and cut them off, two more would grow from its place. Instead… he immobilized a vast majority of my Gargoyle. Fantastic._' Naruto's eyes narrowed before he spun to glare at Narumi, using chakra to stick to the slanting Gargoyle.

He blinked once… then twice… confused and befuddled, he looked around.

"What the… where did you go?" he asked aloud.

"Over here, Bastard!" shouted a clear female voice from above as he was decked in the face and sent flying down the back of the Gargoyle.

As he was held down, a punch was delivered to his jaw… then another… and another.

"Bitch… I have a nose, you know." He slurred before his nose was promptly shattered.

Naruto smirked as his healing abilities took place…

"Why don't you just die?!" she shouted at him.

"I've got too much stuff to do…" he trailed with a smile before taking out a kunai and jamming it into her side.

* * *

(_Present_)

Naruto came to a stop at a tall cliff and looked down nervously.

"Let's see… I could climb down and exhaust myself, or jump down and hurt myself. I'd heal from any injury dealt to me… but exhaustion, like sleep, is only natural for me… I'll jump." He turned around so his back was facing the cliff and he fell backwards.

Idly, he wondered why he didn't just Shunshin to get down faster…

His eyes widened in realization and the chasm he fell into echoed with his furious cry…

"FUCK!"

There was a loud crunch followed by a silence with the occasional groan of pain and agony.

If one listened closely enough, they could hear his words…

"_I hate my sister…" _

* * *

(_Earlier_)

Narumi fell backwards in pain just as the clouds above cleared and the sun showed through. The Gargoyle began to turn to stone…

Naruto's eyes widened as the Gargoyle grew cold, "Damn it!" he shouted just as Gamabunta ran the dagger through its back, "Fuck! Fuck!"

The Gargoyle, before crumbling to the ground, was able to deliver a devastating bite to Gamabunta that tore into him… blood fell to the earth and suddenly, both summons dispelled. Smoke covered the field.

Naruto and Narumi felt weightlessness for only a moment. And even as they fell, punches were thrown.

With a loud 'thump' they hit the ground; a small amount of dust came up from the ground. Naruto and Narumi both got up to their feet.

Narumi ran at Naruto as fast as her legs would allow it…

Naruto meanwhile looked at her as she ran at him…

'_Hmm… taking into account that we fell several hundreds of feet and that Narumi absorbed the impact… if she releases that in her next punch, then I will suffer what is equivalent to six full-strength punches from Tsunade herself…_' his eyes widened just as Narumi's fist was about to hit him, '_Shit!_'

He went into a fighting stance before using his right arm, the Shinigami's Right Arm, to deliver a punch of his own… Narumi's attack and his punch impacted at that moment and the resulting shockwaves emanated throughout the area, flattening all the dirt around them.

* * *

(_Present_)

Naruto's eyes turned to the deer in the woods. He reached up his right hand and snapped his fingers… And the deer bent its head just in time to chew on some grass barely avoiding the blast.

"Fuck…" hissed Naruto before the deer turned and ran from him.

He took a step… then collapsed in pain as a growl erupted in the forest. His stomach was in agonizing pain…

"So… hungry… need food…" he mumbled desperately.

His eyes turned to the ground to see a worm crawling across it.

"No… Never…!"

A loud growl from his stomach erupted in the forest.

"Food…"

Drool escaped his mouth before he made a mad leap for the worm. The worm burrowed underground just in time to avoid Naruto's grasp.

"FUCK!"

* * *

(_Earlier_)

Sasuke's eyes opened suddenly at the sound of a great explosion. His red Sharingan eyes turned to set a gaze upon a massive crater with two people in it. Naruto and Narumi… Oh boy. This wasn't good.

He winced as he stood up again, "Can't fall asleep…" he muttered before jumping down to the battlefield.

Somehow, he knew he would regret this… he just knew.

* * *

Shukaku's mighty tail swept through Oto Forces and crashed them apart, person after person. Mercilessly, they were slaughtered. Though the Oto and Suna forces retreated, the both having lost their respective morale, Shukaku continued to let loose his pent-up aggression on the helpless, gray-uniform shinobi…

He laughed as he crushed a dozen of them beneath his feet. It was… so… much… FUN!

"Shukaku…" came a lazy drawl.

Shukaku paused as he looked around and silently swore. All the Oto-nin had either left the village or were dead.

"You're finished."

Shukaku reluctantly nodded but, before returning to his prison, he turned to see a great bolt of lighting come from the earth… as an explosion tore its way throughout the forests of Konoha…

* * *

(_Present_)

Naruto felt his eye twitch as the rain came down, "I'm going to hurt somebody if it doesn't stop raining." He said with absolute certainty.

For a moment, the rain stopped. He reached out from the den he created to check… no rain. He stepped out… and a tree fell on him.

"FUCK!"

* * *

(_Earlier_)

Sasuke attacked Naruto as quickly as he could with a few kunai thrown in haste. He knew Naruto would block them… but he wanted to send a message.

"So you're still alive?" asked Naruto.

Yeah… that kind of message…

"Sasuke!" shouted a voice before he was hugged by Narumi, "Teme!" she hit him on the back of the head, "I thought you were killed!"

Sasuke felt his eye twitch as he rubbed his head, "I'm going to die pretty soon if I don't get good help, dobe. But before anything else, we have to beat this jerk."

"Jerk?" asked Naruto, "Is that the best insult you can come up with, Cock-Breath?"

Sasuke and Narumi looked at each other as the silent message of 'Let's kill him' was conveyed. They turned to face him… and saw nothing but air.

"Looking for me?" he asked from behind them before he swung his sword, intent on decapitation or at the very least maiming.

Narumi's sword barely managed to come up for a block that sent a 'clang' sound around the area. Sasuke went to stab Naruto only for Naruto's right hand to grab his head.

"Die." He said simply as the sparks gathered.

Narumi forced back Naruto's sword while at the same time swinging up to cut off Naruto's right arm from the shoulder. She didn't think it would work so well…

Naruto's right arm fell to the ground and twitched every so often while Naruto leapt forwards to run Narumi through with his blade.

Success.

"Agh! What did you just do?!" shouted Naruto furiously at her.

"I lopped off your arm." she said simply.

"Bitch…" he growled out before smirking, "You're going to pay for that."

To her utter surprise, there was the sound of snapping fingers and suddenly, five holes appeared on her body.

Blood dripped out of her mouth as she asked the question, "Nani?"

As she fell to her knees, her hands hitting the ground to keep her up, she watched Naruto's arm fly back to him. Briefly, she noticed a pulse of chakra…

"My arm doesn't like being cut off. It doesn't matter how you cut it off, but it'll find a way back to the original body. It just goes back to where it was chopped off from and reattaches itself." He explained, "In a way, all your efforts were for naught."

Sasuke's kunai went into the back of his head just as he finished talking, "Oh… shut up already." spoke Sasuke with a snarl.

Naruto took a step forwards before swinging his right arm around to knock Sasuke back. He coughed up blood as he felt his body be dragged across the ground from the force of the hit.

Naruto reached back and pulled the kunai from where it had planted itself.

"Was that _really_ necessary?" he questioned.

Sasuke scowled and winced as he replied, "Y-Yeah…" he cursed himself for stuttering.

Naruto walked towards him, "Just for that… you're going to die." He reached down with his right arm, "Let's try this again." And to his utter surprise, Sasuke vanished to reveal a wooden log.

'_Shit!_' was the thought accompanied by the widening of eyes as Naruto jumped back to avoid being hit by Sasuke's Grand Fireball.

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu, eh?" asked Naruto, "Never been a fan, even though one of my affinities is Katon." His eyes drifted across the ash the log had become and landed on the Uchiha, "My sister is currently out of the picture… So I'm going to kill you then her. It'll break her spirit to watch somebody she cares for die like that…"

He never noticed as Narumi's eyes widened at what Naruto said…

(_Flashback_)

"You know… one is most powerful when protecting somebody precious to them."

(_End Flashback_)

'_Haku…_' thought Narumi, '_You're right…_' she dragged herself up to the ground, '_I am stronger than this Teme because… because I'm fighting for somebody. I'm going to kill him for Konoha… for everybody I care about… for…_' her eyes looked to Sasuke, who smirked even as Naruto's hand holding the sword came down to kill him, '_Sasuke…_'

She jumped forwards and kicked Naruto away from Sasuke, his blade just missing him by less than an inch.

He knelt down to help Sasuke up to his feet, "Come on… there's no way in fucking hell I'm losing to this bastard."

Sasuke gave a small smirk before turning to look at Naruto, "Smartest thing you've said all day."

Narumi smirked while looking at him, "Teme…"

Sasuke glanced at her, "Dobe…"

And they launched themselves at Naruto to end his reign of terror.

* * *

(_Present_)

Naruto gave a smirk as he looked at the sun, "I've been wandering around for a few hours now. Two days since waking up. That attack… did a number on me."

He gritted his teeth before he calmed down and smirked, "Battle… War… The difference between them is that if you lose a battle, you still have a chance to win the war. If you lose the war, then what? No… you must win the War in the end. You could win only one battle in the entire war and still come out on top. This was just… one battle…"

* * *

(_Earlier_)

Kakashi winced as he fell to one knee, Kabuto mimicking the action.

"You are a powerful opponent, Hatake-san." Said Kabuto, "But I suppose I must now take my leave."

Kakashi's eyes narrowed, "You're retreating?"

"I believe we left more than enough of a mess for you." He stated before smirking, looking at the Shukaku step through the village, "Either way, our leader is dead and we have some things to look at. For now, Sayonara, Hatake-san… I know we'll meet again very soon."

He vanished in a Shunshin just as there was a giant burst of lightning from the Konoha Forest.

* * *

(_Present_)

"I know… I know that this isn't the end for me. Not yet… it's too soon. My story has only begun."

* * *

(_Earlier_)

Naruto batted away Sasuke's first attack with ease and stepped back from Narumi's sword as it came down, his own blade came up to block Sasuke's kunai and he spun to deflect both his opponents away.

Narumi suddenly leapt forwards and landed behind Naruto. His eyes widened as his arm started to fall off his body.

'_A clean cut…!_' he thought.

Sasuke ran up in front and kicked the arm to Narumi who grabbed the arm by its sides and wrapped steel wire around the fingers.

"Now…" trailed Sasuke, "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" he shouted, sending a giant fireball at Naruto.

He smirked, "You two are really stupid, you know that?" his powers kicked in just as the fireball struck, dousing him in water and blasting Sasuke back a little ways with the sudden recoil force.

Narumi smirked and let go of Sasuke's arm to send it back to Naruto, "You are, aren't you?" he questioned as the arm reattached itself, "You're both morons and- wait…" his eyes widened in fear as he looked at the burning paper on the rims of where his arm reattached itself, "Explosive tags? Almost didn't notice them." He smirked and sealed them just as they finished burning outside his body, "There… problem solved.

His eyes narrowed as a dozen Narumi clones appeared next to the original and they all swung their swords at him, using Wind Nature Manipulation to enhance the attacks, he wasn't surprised to see all the thousands of tiny cuts appear all around him. Swords came out of every single one and impaled him.

He smirked, "It's been done."

"But has this?" questioned Sasuke.

"Has what?"

"Somebody taking advantage of that delay…"

Naruto's eyes widened.

(_Flashback_)

"You really want me, a helpless Ronin, dead… don't you?" asked Naruto with a grin under his mask.

"Shut up!" cried Temari at him with tears in her eyes, "You're about as helpless as a cornered panther! You killed my brother and I'll be damned before I let you get away with it! Futon: Kamikaze (Divine Wind)!" she called out.

Almost immediately a tornado of wind was sent at Naruto.

Quickly, Naruto jumped to the tree in the corner of the area just as the tornado struck. Almost as suddenly, more tornadoes formed and swiftly destroyed the tree, flinging Naruto out of it and across the stadium before he hit the wall on the opposite side with a sickening crack.

Blood trickled down from his mouth.

"Futon: Atsugai (Pressure Damage)!" she cried out before wind was blasted from her mouth at Naruto.

Several cuts appeared all over his body before his blood stained the cracked wall behind him in a pattern resembling a warped Rorschach. Was it an angel… or a skull?

Naruto slowly got up to his two feet as the injuries all over his body healed rapidly.

"Futon: Daitoppa (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)!" came another of Temari's cries as more wind came to smash Naruto against the wall again, leaving a deeper impression.

The crowd was silent as the dead…

Temari squinted her eyes to see through the dust that had been picked up from the most recent attack.

(_End Flashback_)

"I figured out your technique had a delay of some kind that prevented you from using it any of those times. You relied on your healing rate to save you. But it can't save you from everything…"

(_Flashback_)

"Hear that? Those maggots up there are crying for me to spare your life. I honestly think that I can hear a few of them telling you to run!" Naruto laughed out before scowling and glaring at Hinata with a snarl on his lips, "Pathetic!" he spat out.

He walked over to her and brought up his right arm before sending it down in a vicious punch…

When just as suddenly, Hinata brought up her palm and struck the hand, stopping it. Blood began to leak out of the bandages on Naruto's right arm.

"Gah! What the hell did you just do?! My right arm… This is the Shinigami's right arm! How the hell did you damage the Shinigami's right arm?!" shouted Naruto.

(_End Flashback_)

"During the time you didn't have your right arm, none of your injuries were healing. You were significantly weakened. If anything, that proves where your weak point is. As for the delay… I found out that it takes thirty seconds before you can use the technique again. I still have about fifteen seconds." His right hand became charged with his last Chidori of the day, "Now tell me. Since you're doused in water, have explosive notes in the space where your right arm attaches itself to your body, and have several long, metal blades going through you and reaching to that lightning-filled sky… what's going to happen if I do this?" he charged forwards with his lighting fist and impaled Naruto through the heart, "Chidori!"

Electricity swarmed around Naruto before firing up to the sky and coming back down again as one continuous lightning bolt. The explosives suddenly activated.

Sasuke leapt back with a satisfied expression and jumped over to Narumi…

"Boom…" Narumi said with a smirk before they were both replaced with logs.

Naruto felt a pain unlike any other rip and tear its way through every cell in his body, "FUCK!" he roared before there was a great explosion and his arm was flung miles away.

* * *

The cloaked man looked to the explosion and shook his head, "Looks like they beat Naruto-sama. Come. We're retreating, you three… If Naruto's 'Plan B' is going to work, we'll need to work fast."

Zaku, Dosu, and Kin looked at each other, "Isn't Naruto dead?" questioned Kin.

The cloaked man seemed to look at her before what she could see of his pale face smirked, "Nothing that small can keep Naruto-sama down for very long."

They Shunshined away…

* * *

Naruto's arm went flying mile after mile before finally crash-landing in a dense forest, hundreds of miles away from Konoha.

Slowly, sparks appeared as bone and tissue grew itself from the place the right arm ended. Naruto's body slowly but surely began to reconstruct itself.

* * *

(_Present_)

Two people stopped at a lake to get some water. One of them looked up to see a shadowed figure covered in blood and muck leaning against a tree.

"Hey, sir! Are you alright?" he shouted.

The figure fell over.

The two people looked between each other before running to help the figure, a boy of about thirteen years.

"Come on, we'll help you. What's your name, anyway?" one of them asked.

The boy didn't respond, his blue eyes twitched every so often and his blond hair was a mess of knots and filth.

"Alright, let's get you something to eat first. We were planning on going to Konoha, but after the invasion a month ago… that's probably not a good idea."

The boy twitched slightly, but other than that… he didn't move. They put the boy in the back of the caravan they were using and started their trek back to the village.

"I hear that one of the competitors in that exam did even more damage than the invasion force." muttered one of the people to the other.

"Who was it?" he asked.

"Some Ronin… Uzumaki Naruto, they said his name was. Anyway, if he survived, he'd probably be an S-Class criminal by now."

"A Ronin?" he questioned, "Never thought I'd live to see the day. I mean, they're just piss-poor weaklings, aren't they?"

The heads of both men exploded and Naruto climbed to the front before salvaging their clothes and calming the horses. He looked up to the sky and smiled slightly.

"They think I'm dead…?" he questioned aloud before he began to laugh, "They think I'm dead," he repeated laughing louder, "THEY THINK I'M DEAD!" he roared with laughter and fell to the ground before taking the caravan, "I think we should head somewhere fun. How about… Ah, the Red Light District of Konoha… I believe my sister doesn't live too far away."

His laughter could be heard from all around as the corpses of the two men who helped him rotted in the sunlight on this beautiful day.

Have you ever had one of _those_ days? You know. The kind of day where you feel that nothing seems to be going the way you expected it to? Like… Getting up to do a presentation and expecting applause only to be laughed at, or attending a funeral service and taking note that everybody's in bright colors and laughing like it's some kind of party?

There's a little-known method of getting out of one of _those_ days. It's surprisingly simple, but thus far… very few people have tried it. To get out of one of _those_ days… all you have to do is do something you know will always be expected. In Naruto's case, blowing somebody's head up is always going to kill them… it proves that, while Kami hates him, the universe doesn't.

And so, that is how Naruto's day drastically improved when he killed two people, woke up from a several-week-long coma, and traveled to the Red Light District of Konoha on a personal infiltration mission to kill his sister… once again. And it wasn't even Plan B.

Another day in the life of Uzumaki Naruto…

* * *

End Chapter 21 and Arc 1.

Woohoo! We're finally finished with Arc 1! I'll update this story in forty days from now, so don't fret. Next time, we'll see gore… gore… and more gore.

Goody.

So until January 24th… Ja ne.

Happy Holidays!

_**Forever Signed in Blood, **_

_**Slayer End**_


	22. Rising Red Dawn

"_With great power comes great responsibility." Ben Parker, Spider-Man_

* * *

The guards were unconscious, having passed out due to Genjutsu. Naruto, thus, had little trouble entering the village. Though he was sure that the Shinobi would find him soon unless he performed his mission quickly and efficiently. In short, if he got caught then there was every chance that he would be rocketed out of the village… again.

So, he maintained a 'merchant' persona so as to screw over a few more people.

"Oh, Konnichiwa! Are you Gatsu?" asked an old man to Naruto, stopping him.

Naruto paused, "Hai… Hai, I am."

"Excellent, I'm here for the ingredients I asked for last week, Arigatou. I'm greatly pleased you brought them."

Naruto paused, "…Do you know someone by the name of Uzumaki Narumi?" he asked.

"Huh? Oh, of course, how can't I? She's our best customer. My name is Ichiraku Teuchi, by the way."

"Ah, well… Teuchi-san, while I was out, someone delayed me rather unexpectedly. In doing so… she cost me well over two thousand ryo…"

"Ah, no problem, I'll talk to her later about that… I suppose you'd like compensation?"

"…That would be nice." Naruto said with a smile.

"Well, if you'd come with me…?"

Naruto complied… another win for him…

…Kami, he's such an asshole.

* * *

Uchiha Itachi stared down at Uzumaki Narumi with dispassionate eyes… red eyes…

"Come with us." he spoke in a monotone, he knew she wouldn't listen.

"Oi, Itachi," started his partner, Kisame, "Why not just let me tear off one of her limbs to make it easier?"

Narumi, predictably, stepped back in slight fear… and then she pulled out a sword. With narrowed eyes she leapt forward and swung.

…What happened next, none of them could have been prepared for it.

* * *

Naruto walked through the catacombs of Konoha, leafing through the thousands of ryo he scammed out of that Ramen shop… he almost felt bad doing this to makers of the holiest food in the world… _almost_.

He stopped in front of a metal door and kicked it in, all the while whistling an irritating tune… then humming… then singing out loud…

"Nine-hundred and eighty-four bowls of Ramen to eat, nine-hundred and eighty-four! You eat one up, ask for a round…. Nine-hundred and eighty-three bowls of Ramen to eat…!"

At this point, he could be as irritating as he wanted. There would be no repercussions for it.

A blade was suddenly felt on his neck as an ANBU with a blank mask stood behind him… lots of ANBU with blank masks, actually…

An old man with bandages covering his face appeared in front of him, "Naruto," he 'greeted' cordially.

"Danzo." replied Naruto in an equally warm tone.

"Would you mind explaining what you're doing down here?"

"…I have a business proposition."

* * *

Kisame brought his Samehada up to block the sword that came down and struck it. The reverberations from the attack ran through Narumi's arm and powered it to increase the strength…

'_Kuso!_' Kisame thought as he threw her back, '_She's easily chunin-level… so why the fuck is this so hard?!_'

"Itachi!" shouted a voice from the other end of the battlefield, the hotel they had been fighting in was already reduced to ash and rubble…

The sound of chirping birds could be heard and Itachi chanced a glance back, "Hello… Sasuke."

* * *

"A business proposition? What could you offer me?" asked Danzo.

"Well, I could do a lot of things for you. All I ask in exchange is that for each thing I do for you, you must do something for me. If I, say, destroy a country for you… then I may ask for a favor of equivalent magnitude to the destruction of that country. It's a little off, I know… but it works. You scratch my back, I scratch yours…"

"I already have an army that is perfectly capable-"

"Danzo, you and I both are more than aware of the fact that if you attacked using your current forces, you'd be destroyed faster than you could blink. Then Konoha will be weakened and attacked by foreign nations and Hidden Villages. Kumo and Iwa, just to name a few… not to mention Oto and Orochimaru himself… face it, it would be suicide to pose a strike right now with so many potential threats and unknown variables."

"…You pose a convincing argument. So if I asked you to do me a favor, you would do it?"

"And in exchange, I may ask you for a favor of equivalent magnitude. You could, for all I care, ask me for multiple favors and, in return, I may ask you for a single favor of equal weight to the several favors you asked me for and vice-versa."

"It is an intriguing offer…"

"Too intriguing to pass up, if you asked me. It would be mutually beneficial."

Danzo turned his back to Naruto and the ANBU pressed their blades a little harder to Naruto's neck and other lethal points, he turned back to Naruto, "But what guarantee do I have that you will not turn and strike me?"

"What guarantee do I have that you won't do the same to me? This is a deal I'm offering you Danzo, we're both aware of the possible risks at this point… but don't the benefits outweigh these risks?"

Danzo's visible eye narrowed…

* * *

Itachi passively batted Sasuke away and watched him fall to the ground with emotionless eyes. He advanced upon his little brother, calculating his every step.

Sasuke looked up at Itachi… and made a terrible mistake as he made direct eye-contact.

"Tsukiyomi…"

Narumi watched as Sasuke screamed and collapsed lamely to the ground, twitching occasionally. Fear engulfed her.

"What did you do to him?!" she suddenly cried out.

"What Itachi did to your friend is _nothing_ compared to what _I'm_ going to do to _you_ when I get the chance…" Kisame gave her a twisted grin and Narumi felt her heart skip a beat…

'_Am I… going to die?_'

A man in a green spandex suit came out of nowhere and smashed his foot into Kisame's face, knocking him away while a man with long, white hair appeared behind Itachi and struck.

…Maito Gai and Jiraiya… reinforcements of Konoha.

"Such un-youthful activities mustn't go unpunished!" shouted Gai to the world around him as he pressed his attacks on Kisame.

Jiraiya said nothing but kept his eyes away from Itachi's, "So you've come…?" inquired Itachi, "It would seem… that it isn't in our best interests to keep fighting."

Jiraiya smirked, "Did you really think you could keep me away with a low-level Genjutsu like that? But to pick on a woman like that… is unforgiveable." he began to charge a Rasengan, "Uchiha Itachi, S-Class Nuke-nin of Konoha, prepare to die."

* * *

"Against my better judgment… I accept your deal." said Danzo after a moment, "And as a show of good faith… I will let you ask of me the first favor."

Naruto smirked, "As you know, I wish for nothing more nor less than to watch Uzumaki Narumi perish… dead, kaput, destroyed… just as long as she isn't alive. I came here to fulfill part of this goal. My favor I ask of you, Danzo-dono, is simple. I want you to make it so that Narumi is broke and has no money… and no home."

"It will be done."

"And your favor…?"

It was Danzo's turn to smirk, "I have a feeling that you will enjoy this…"

* * *

Kisame felt himself get punched in the gut… hard. For a minute, he felt like a bird…

He hated birds. For the love of Kami, he looked like a _shark_ not a _bird_! What use would there be to him in _flying_?! He always suffered air-sickness!

This, luckily, was one of those rare exceptions as he had more to worry about than a weak stomach. He was about to smash into a stone wall, naturally, he'd try to avoid this occurrence in any way possible…

…Unfortunately, his 'youthful' opponent wouldn't allow that to happen.

He felt like a puppy in a meat grinder as he was almost pulverized against the earth. It hurt so much… so painful… Itai…

Kisame got to his feet and surveyed the damage around as his green partner suddenly appeared on one side of the battlefield. He took out Samehada, prepared to strike down his opponent… and his eyes widened when he saw Maito Gai fall to the ground with five holes in his back.

A figure dressed like a civilian wearing a 'smiley-face' mask walked out from behind the shadow of a building, "You don't think a Helpless Ronin such as me could do _that_, do you?" he questioned as he raised a bandaged right arm…

* * *

Itachi was quick to Shunshin away from Jiraiya, aware that the odds were against his victory and appeared next to Kisame who, for lack of a better word, was shocked.

"Kisame?" he inquired the man, "What are you doing?"

"Itachi… when's the last time you've heard of a Ronin… a strong one?" asked Kisame, staring down what appeared to be a civilian with a damaged arm… holding a blank Hitai-ate in his other hand.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto, and these people think I'm dead. Let's keep it that way, shall we? May I come along?"

Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Itachi complied quickly, "Very well," much to the ire of Kisame.

They needed the extra help in escaping, anyway…

"Excellent!" Naruto almost shouted in glee before cutting his left thumb, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu…"

There was a large blast of smoke which Kisame, Itachi, and Naruto used to their advantage as they ran… and when the smoke cleared, there stood the statue of a man without a face… covered in exploding tags.

Jiraiya only had enough time to save Maito Gai from the blast and jump away before the tags went off…

But even as he stood, amazed by the lack of casualties this day, he couldn't help but wonder why this felt like a bittersweet victory…

* * *

"Now, as you know, my name is Uzumaki Naruto. As brother to the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki, I know all her strengths and weaknesses. It has come to my attention that you two wish to take her and kill her… I want in."

* * *

End Chapter 22…

Short, but hopefully to the point. I've prewritten several future chapters for this fic so don't worry, they are of varying lengths. This one just happens to seem a little short. Maybe it is.

Anyway, even though this chapter is a little less than two thousand words, I believe it was worth the read. I promise a four thousand word chapter by February 4th, my next update. Until then, I'll be off!

Bye!

_**Forever Signed in Blood, **_

_**Slayer End**_

…Oh, wait, we never _did_ find out what happened to the Oto team…

Resume Chapter 22…

* * *

Dosu had never wanted to die more than now. Between the fact that their _escort_ was leading them through the middle of nowhere and the fact that Kin had gotten to see what he looked like without the cloak…

His lone eye traced over to her and he felt something in him die as he watched his female teammate swoon over the cloaked man.

Zaku wasn't holding up any better. The boredom finally got to him only yesterday and, in a fit of rage and need for excitement; he decided to backtrack through unknown territory. Their temporary leader fell for it and ended up trailing them into a camp of Nuke-nin…

They weren't friendly.

The fattest one of the bunch, a guy who could probably lift boulders without feeling a thing that wore a red suit, had a deer summoning contract, and constantly laughed out the phrase 'ho-ho-ho' while proclaiming his undying and unwavering pedophilic love towards children, was anything _but_ jolly.

Dosu discovered this fact when he was held down by several antlers and being beaten to death by a giant bell. He silently vowed to make Zaku suffer, rot, burn, cry, mourn, agonize, and finally die by having his soul _personally_ torn out and devoured by the Shinigami… Kami only knew that Naruto would most likely assist him in this endeavor as it was partially Zaku's fault that they had been set off course for so long.

"I have an idea…" the cloaked man finally said after a minute.

"Nani?" questioned Zaku, sporting a black eye and broken nose from Kin's 'retribution'.

"My plan is simple… first, we find a village, second, we steal all the doormats, then we release the animals from the zoon, finally, we take pictures and sell them to the highest bidder, kill the bidder, and sell them again!" he suddenly proclaimed.

The silence was palpable and Dosu finally snapped, "How the _FUCK_ does that have _anything_ to do with where Naruto-sama is! I never even took you for the damned idiotic type who would be so _stupid_ as to _suggest_ such a _fucking_ moronic idea! For the love of Kami! All of you just shut the _hell_ up and let's find _Naruto-sama_!"

They all stared at him for the briefest period…

"_WHAT?! WHAT IS IT?! WHAT'S SO UNDENIABLY INTERESTING!_" he roared.

"There's this bird summon…" trailed Kin for a moment until a massive hawk swept down and snatched Dosu up to the skies.

"…Should we help him?" Zaku asked, pitying his comrade.

"Let's leave him up there for a while. It'll teach him not to question my orders. Then, after a few hours, I'll shoot down that summon and we can eat it." answered the cloaked man.

Upon his mentioning of food, both of the remaining Nin perked up… until Kin mentioned something to her newfound crush, "Won't the bird dispel when it hits the ground?"

Silence…

"No food tonight for any of you."

* * *

Now it's the end of Chapter 22…

By god, that cloaked guy is both insane _and_ he's a jackass. Wow… just, wow…

_**Forever Signed in Blood, **_

_**Slayer End**_


	23. Fourteen Pieces

"_I'm aware of the irony of appearing on TV in order to decry it." Sideshow Bob, The Simpsons_

* * *

"You have some real issues, man…" trailed Kisame as he looked down at Naruto with his small, shark-like eyes.

"Are you calling me insane?" questioned Naruto defensively.

"Hai."

"…While I can't argue with that, I'd just like to point out that I am but a helpless Ronin. What have you to fear of me? Why would you wish to back away from me? Though I may not be the sanest individual that doesn't mean I'm a threat to a shinobi of your caliber…" he trailed off with a smirk behind his smiley mask.

Sarcastically, Kisame snorted and replied, "You're making me blush… me? A great shinobi? I'd never have thought of it."

Naruto paused for a moment and twitched slightly, "Are you mocking me?"

"Hai."

'_At least… he's straight to the point about it…_' noted Naruto mentally, "Well," he spoke, "What is the source of this immature hostility to the helpless Ronin who so happened to save your asses from being hounded down by a massive force of well-trained Shinobi armed to the teeth?"

"We didn't need the help from some greenhorn wannabe Shinobi like you!" Kisame suddenly shouted, irritated, "I don't care how skilled you are, a Ronin is a Ronin. You guys are weak! The most you could probably do is _distract_!"

Naruto's smile became paper thin and his eyes narrowed into slits, "Oh…?" he reached up his right fist and started forwards while Kisame took out his sword, Samehada.

Itachi silently observed the two as they fought over an unnecessary thing and chewed on his Pocky…

…His strawberry flavored Pocky.

* * *

Narumi stood next to Sasuke's bed; silently she watched his chest rise and fall. She felt a presence enter the room.

"Ero-sennin… will he be alright?" she asked.

There was a pause…

"…Tsukiyomi is a powerful Genjutsu. For Sasuke, several days of pain and torture passed in only a second… the human mind was not made to withstand such a mental force. Kakashi's a Jonin and he's doing no better. I do know somebody who can help, however. She's also going to be our next Hokage." He responded, "I've decided to take you along for the ride."

"Why me? You should be bringing some ANBU or something with you." she turned to look at him and almost was startled at the seriousness he expressed.

"ANBU wouldn't do the trick. Tsunade was my teammate and our target… I know her better than any ANBU. And if I know her right, there's no way a bunch of masks are going to be enough to get her here. If anything? They'll scare her off. She distrusts Konoha with a passion… she'll trust you, I know it."

Narumi slightly raised an eyebrow, "There's more to this…"

"Akatsuki. It's a group of Nuke-nin, we recently got word that they're after you and the others like you… the Jinchuuriki." he sighed, "I was meaning to put off telling you this… but after that event… you need to know. Also, my sources recently got some disturbing information."

"What? What else is there?" she asked.

Jiraiya slightly bit his lip, "Naruto… his group was sighted somewhere near the border of Hi no Kuni, around the area we're going to look for Tsunade. If we run into them, I need you to expect the worst. Don't let up in your attacks."

She gave him a small glare, "I never intended on it."

* * *

Naruto stood over Kisame as he panted, "That's not fair, Gaki…" Kisame muttered, "It's like nothing fazes you…"

"I am not easily bested. It is impossible to exhaust me… you can't outlast me… and any injuries I receive will heal almost immediately. Kisame-san, if I used my right arm except to block your attacks, you would be a _smear_ on the dirt around us…" Naruto said snidely with a smirk.

"Arrogant son of a-"

"Kisame," Itachi interrupted Kisame's triad of insults, "He's proven his point. He can fight against an Akatsuki member. If he wants to join, I propose we test him."

"Test me/him?" asked Naruto and Kisame, simultaneously and respectively.

"If you know the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki as intimately as you claim then you should know where she is." he spoke coolly, "Simply guide us in the right direction and assist us in capturing her."

"Oh, I know where she is. I already have a group set up around that area…" Naruto spoke softly.

"A group? You mean that you have your own personal team?" inquired Kisame.

"Certainly… I'm not just looking for revenge, anymore. After the invasion I came across a disturbing piece of information about my… sister. There are things I need to know about and as soon as I made contact with my group, I informed them of my situation. They've been gathering intelligence on something I've wanted to know for a little while now, and since they're in the area I expect our little Jinchuuriki to be, it only makes sense that we meet up with them."

"How do you know for certain that the Container will be there?" asked Itachi.

"Simple… There are lots of bars and brothels. Also, gambling is common…"

Kisame and Itachi shared a look.

* * *

Dosu and Zaku stood in a clearing with the hooded man while Kin cleaned herself. When she was asked about it, she responded simply and elegantly:

"There's no way in hell that I'm going to show up in front of Naruto looking like some kind of vagabond off of the streets."

It was a sort of slap to the face for them, but they didn't necessarily care all that much until this moment… when the cloaked man chose to reveal himself to be a rather chivalrous individual.

'_He just wants to get into her pants…_' thought Zaku furiously, '_Pervert._'

Dosu silently observed the interactions between the cloaked man and Kin and simply shook his head. There was nothing between them, he realized. The cloaked man was just doing this to screw with Zaku, as if doing those strange things on the Hokage Monument wasn't enough.

His eye narrowed… how _did_ he do that, anyway? Perhaps it was some kind of Jutsu he'd never heard of? Maybe it was a Kekkei-Genkai? Well, it was a question for a later date. He shrugged and looked to the skies.

Under one of the clouds was a stone bird that flew left and right, out of the sun's light. It was Naruto's way of contacting them, proving he was still around. Dosu didn't know when Naruto-sama summoned the 'bird' but it was good timing and he considered it a blessing.

The cloaked man shifted slightly in his feet and Dosu smirked… it appeared that he was no more comfortable with this situation than he was-

"Dosu, go check on Kin… It shouldn't be taking her this long." he said in a brief monotone.

Dosu silently chuckled to himself as he interpreted the man as saying 'I'm bored, hurry up and grab the girl so we can leave' and he relished the fact. Even if he was stuck with the hard job, it didn't matter. It was moments of satisfaction like this that kept him going…

"And bring Zaku with you."

…And it was moments of disappointment like that which made him contemplate the wonders of a razorblade.

"Come on!" shouted Zaku, kicking him to further them along, "We don't have all day!"

Razorblades seemed very attractive at the moment.

Dosu growled slightly but held his tongue…

…He could hurt Zaku later.

* * *

Narumi continued to stand near Sasuke. Though Ero-sennin had been ushered away only minutes before, she still couldn't help but linger. In the past few days, she had discovered that what she perceived to be reality…

She had killed people in cold blood and enjoyed it, she was fighting against her own family, and she held the evil side of Kyuubi… It was like she was a plague. It was like no matter what, she would hurt somebody. Was this the fate of all Jinchuuriki?

No, she wasn't even a Jinchuuriki. She snorted aloud at the absurdity of it. She didn't even have the right to call herself that, no… she was a Pseudo Jinchuuriki. Just like her twisted brother.

She hated that fact. She was all alone in the world… Nobody could have seen this. Nobody could have predicted this. But it happened.

Deep down, she wondered why. Why did her father, the Yondaime, do this to her and Naruto? What of their mother? Did she condone this?

Her eyes furrowed in thought…

'_There's more to this._' she realized, '_The Yon…No, Tou-san, said his soul was split into pieces because of the Hiraishin. But he was able to use it repeatedly in that fight against Naruto. And why were there two of him? What's more, his soul was split several times. I've only seen two pieces… so where are the others? And they were both different, too. One was kind, the other was ruthless… does that have something to do with it?_'

She stopped suddenly, "What good is it to think about this now?" she inquired aloud, "My friend might be dying and I'm worrying more about myself?!" she hissed, "That's not me… No, that'll never be me."

She looked to her teammate with a fire in her eyes in stark contrast to the depressing air they held moments ago, "Don't worry, Sasuke-kun. I'll help you, because you're a teammate and a friend!"

She ran out the door of the hospital and headed home… It would be years later that she realized she hadn't referred to Sasuke by his usual nickname of 'Teme'…

* * *

It was cold. That was perhaps the first thing that occurred to her as she awoke in a strange, dark room. She couldn't move around that well, she was trapped.

'_A-Am I in a box?_' she thought, '_I need to get out!_'

She did the only thing she believed she could do at that point and began calling for help. Her calls turned into pleads, which turned to begging, which turned to screaming her voice hoarse. At last, she heard a door open…

"Please… help…" she trailed weakly.

The box opened… and she was blinded by the light, and deafened by Sabaku no Temari's scream.

* * *

(_Flashback_)

"Naruto…" Kushina whispered to him closely, "You have a sister…"

"A sister?" he scoffed, "You think I don't know that?"

Kushina smiled and spoke the words which would lead Naruto to kill her…

"…I wasn't talking about Narumi-chan."

(_End Flashback_)

'_What did she mean?_' thought Naruto furiously, '_Is it possible… that I have another sister? But who? How? Why? Kushina perished before she could have another child! It's not possible!_'

He looked at his right arm for a moment; "Then again…" he whispered, "The impossible seems to be habitual for any Uzumaki." he scowled, "Does this mean I will never be free? Will these events forever haunt me?"

He gritted his teeth and punched through a tree with his right arm.

'_I hate it! I absolutely hate it! I think I'm so close that I can reach it, then it's tugged farther than I can reach! It's like Kami's little joke!_'

"Naruto-san?" questioned Itachi some ways ahead, "Are you alright?" he inquired in his usual monotone.

Naruto glanced at his right hand as thoughts of it clenching a certain person's heart and crushing it relayed itself into his mind, "Yeah… you know what?" he had a fantasy of Narumi dying as he shattered her windpipe and ripped her to shreds, "I… I feel great."

Itachi felt worry flash across his face but hid it quickly before turning back onto the path.

"What's wrong with him?" asked Kisame.

"…He's dangerous." spoke Itachi, "Clearly, he's insane. It's unhealthy, this obsession of his, and as much as I'd like to simply say he should die… I don't think it's possible. We've seen his healing rate and his right arm disturbs both my Sharingan and your Samehada. It's…"

"Wrong?" ventured Kisame, "I know how you feel. If it's making you this talkative then he has to be dangerous. To be honest, the Gaki gives me the creeps. What should we do?"

"We'll play along with the boy's game… then we will have to do our best to find a way to have him silently dealt with."

"But you said he couldn't be killed?"

"No… he bleeds. If he bleeds, he can die."

Kisame smirked slightly before turning his head over his shoulder to look at Naruto, "Normally, I'd agree with that logic… but after fighting this kid… I'm not so sure."

* * *

A pair of eyes opened in a small cave somewhere far away…

"So, two have died?" he questioned aloud, "That leaves myself and the other eleven… fourteen pieces."

His blue eyes shined a bright color before he reached to grasp a three-pronged kunai, "The others… will be interested." he vanished in a flash of yellow light.

* * *

-End 23

Great balls of fire! I'm already 23 chapters through the story? Wow! Well, I'd like to thank a lot of people… but I'm on a tight schedule so I've decided to up and say 'screw it'.

I'll be back on the 14th for a Bloody Valentines day. Hope you enjoyed the thickening plot and appearances of mysterious individuals!

_**Forever Signed in Blood, **_

_**Slayer End**_


	24. Past and Future Part 4

_"What's so great about being lazy, you ask? What if war were declared and nobody showed?" Garfield_

* * *

"Oi, hurry up, you three." called the man in the cloak, "Naruto-sama is waiting and if he's going to fight against Tsunade of the Sannin, he will need our assistance."

The former Oto-nin ran to him without hesitation and he smirked, this was a good thing, they were learning how to properly follow orders. He needed such at this pressured time… both him and Naruto-sama…

* * *

_It's an interesting thing, really. I met Naruto-sama when I was but a small boy. My Clan had only recently destroyed a clan that was smaller than us. It was a clan of Samurai that were sent at us from Kiri in hopes of ending all our lives. _

_They succeeded in diminishing our forces ton such a point that only a hundred of us lived, the rest of us were slaughtered. I don't know how many died, but we were now roughly a tenth as strong as before. Our chances of winning against Kiri were too low to consider. We were going to die… _

_Then he came. Then I saw Naruto-sama for the first time. At first, I thought nothing of him. He was a boy, much like me, who was about a year or two younger. He had a deformed right arm and he twitched a lot. But he never spoke. _

_After three days, we made eye contact. The first thing he asked me wasn't something dramatic. Nothing of the sort, he wasn't the type to ask philosophical questions like in some kind of cheesy film. No, he asked me my name and grinned. For a moment, I didn't know how to react. _

"_My name is…" _

_It seemed to easy to say those words. In reality, years of being chained and locked up in a cell like this to be used as the clan's secret weapon had done its toll on me. I could barely speak… and I didn't remember my name. Was I ever given a name in the first place, I wondered. Did I ever get that small right to be human or was I left to rot like a dying, vicious animal? _

_It was quite clearly the latter. _

_Naruto-sama frowned and shook his head before introducing himself. _

"_My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I'm sure you've never heard of me, nor of my sister…" _

_I asked him about his sister. _

"_She's a nice enough girl. I don't have all that many problems with her…" he turned away from the subject and innocently asked me something… again, "What's your name? You trailed off…" _

_I told him of my predicament and he smiled and nodded, listening to all I had to say. For the first time in my life, I felt relaxed… pleased, even. I felt I had a friend. Sometimes, however, I wonder how it's possible that a dream as simple as finding a sister or any family to love would turn into a dream of murder and bloodshed. I follow Naruto-sama for three reasons. I repay my debt to him for taking me out of that prison… I repay my debt to him as he is my first friend and precious person… and I follow him so one day I may watch him die. _

* * *

The cloaked man shook his head, "What were you three doing back there, anyway?"

"Kin got her foot stuck in a pile of…" the cloaked man tuned out Zaku's vivid description of Kin stumbling into horse feces.

* * *

_I've been through everything with him, thick and thin. My Kekkei-Genkai was a big help, in actuality. During our brief time in Kiri, I had to keep it a secret as Naruto-sama and I used subterfuge and espionage and sabotage on the non-Clan side. We did everything we could to try and make Kiri more peaceful. _

_That resulted in yet another spectacular coup de tat spearheaded by the Kiri no Shinobigatana Nananin Shu. Naturally, it was mostly a failure. Though the Kage was forced to retreat and plunged Kiri into yet another state of civil war, it was still a failure. Most revolutions are… for what are revolutions but dreams made into a reality? And isn't it true that in any dream, a nightmare may be born? _

* * *

The cloaked man stood on the side and watched as Naruto began talking with the Slug Sannin, egging her on. It was like he was begging for death. Idly, he was aware of the other two men with him. The ones who wore black trench coats with blood-colored clouds… One had blue skin; the other was an Uchiha as identified by his clearly activated Sharingan. What could this cloaked man do other than watch with a slight smirk?

"Zaku, Dosu, Kin… prepare to enter battle. We are going to help Naruto-sama today." he stated.

They didn't need to be told a second time.

* * *

_As time passed on, the little and innocent boy I knew grew uncaring, sadistic, and cold. I miss his old, naive self. It's unsettling, knowing I now no longer work with a pleasant and happy individual but rather a cold and twisted one. He's killing civilians now… and I recognize that he needs to be stopped. But I cannot beat him. _

_There's only one person who can… and he no longer wishes to love her. _

* * *

Tsunade attacked Naruto with a punch that he simply caught with his right hand. It wasn't to the cloaked man's surprise that she felt pain at that moment, even as Zaku, Kin, and Dosu began making a storm… or at least, enough smoke to cover out the sun.

His eyes narrowed slightly. What was Naruto-sama planning?

A blur of red and white signified the arrival of the Toad Sannin, Jiraiya, as he attacked mercilessly. Well, now people knew Naruto-sama was alive and kicking. But knowing him, having brought two S-Class criminals, he predicted this. As such, it was no surprise when Kisame, the blue-skinned one, brought down his bandaged sword to knock away Jiraiya. Itachi grabbed hold of him and put him in a silent Genjutsu to put him to sleep.

Easy enough…

So that meant one opponent was dealt with- A sword found a new home as it impaled the Uchiha while Jiraiya burst into smoke and revealed a log. The Uchiha dispersed himself into a group of crows that promptly swarmed Narumi, the wielder of the blade.

The cloaked man pointed to Narumi's neck with his finger and there was a slight burst of chakra followed by a speedy, bullet-like projectile. He grinned when it hit and she fell, bleeding.

…He never missed.

* * *

_I remember my first mission with Naruto-sama. A simple assassination. It was a rogue Feudal Lord making deals with a foreign Daimyo. They planned to overthrow the country. Naturally, we couldn't let this happen. This is the day that Naruto snapped. _

_When we found the Feudal Lord, we were intercepted. We refused to tell the Shinobi hired by the Lord who hired us, they presumed it to be the townspeople and attacked them… _

_Naruto begged them to stop. And then one of them came over to me and put a kunai to my neck… _

"_Don't kill him! Please! Show mercy!" cried Naruto as he looked at the hundreds of people being killed in the streets of the small town. _

"_Mercy? Boy, these insects don't deserve mercy!" shouted the shinobi at him. _

_The entire town almost immediately exploded… And Naruto's eyes turned a malicious red. His arm suddenly gained a mind of its own as it tore the person who was holding him apart. He unsealed his sword and impaled the Shinobi who held me captive, though his blade left a thin cut on my neck. _

_It wasn't deep enough to kill me, but it would scar. _

_The Shinobi whimpered as Naruto lifted him into the air, his red eyes glaring at the man. _

"_P-Please… stop… show mercy…" he said. _

_Rage unlike any other sparked upon Naruto's face, "Mercy?" he asked, "Did you show those people mercy?! I…" he lifted the sword higher and put his right hand onto the man's head as he coughed up blood, "I shall show you the mercy you have shown others today…" his hand glowed and he grinned maniacally, it was a Cheshire Grin that threatened to split his face in half, "And since you showed no mercy…" _

_I dully realized it was the grin of an insane man bent on naught but destruction and all it took for me to realize this was watching as Naruto killed a man easily twice his size, pulverizing every square inch of him to nothing but a crimson paste that stained the world… _

…_Oh, how that man screamed as he was killed. _

* * *

The cloaked man frowned as Narumi stood up, healing quickly. The Kyuubi didn't want to die, this much was clear. He glared at Naruto… he was taking too long with Jiraiya… too long.  
"Zaku, destroy one of her legs. If she interferes with Naruto-sama's fight, he may not win."

Zaku complied and released a blast of hyper-compressed air that shot through everything in its way… only, it didn't hit Narumi. Rather, she blocked it.

"…So she knows we're here?" he asked.

"Hai." she responded from behind.

He was unsurprised to hear her voice so close now, he knew of her speed… instead, a long, white blade popped out of his wrist and he swung at her with it. The former Oto-nin who followed him attacked in unison.

The cloaked man grinned...

* * *

_He sent a message, as usual, by sending out a stone hawk. It brought us a map, instructions, anything to help us not only to find him but also to assist him in some way, shape, or form. Our most recent mission was to assist Naruto-sama in the attempted assassination of not one, but _two_ Sannin. He wanted to cripple Konoha by killing the other two remaining Sannin. But in order to do this, he would deeply need both my personal assistance and the assistance of the team I've gathered. We exist as the only means of destroying Konoha's two finest. _

_What _wasn't_ in the report he sent us was that Narumi would be there... though, it was implied. I knew that Naruto would never have us go against two S-Class opponent's like that... he has a heart, too. Unless, of course, it involves Narumi. He is willing to kill a thousand people, sacrifice a nation, and annihilate anybody who may care for him if it meant Narumi would die. His obsession... is unhealthy. But I? I am a single man who leads a group too terrified to leave him. If it was up to me, he would stop this nonsense and come back to his senses... he would return to the old Naruto- The Naruto I loved like a brother. _

_Every day, my hopes and dreams for things becoming simple again fade and wither..._

_...And die. _

* * *

Naruto looked at the cloaked man and almost sighed with relief, "What took you so long?!" he shouted.

"A little of this..." trailed the cloaked man, dodging a Doton Jutsu launched from Jiraiya, "And a little of that. You know... stuff."

Naruto felt his eye twitch before he calmed down and grinned, looking at Narumi, "I suppose that you were the one taking shots at her from the cover?" it was phrased more as a statement than a question.

"Naturally, Naruto-sama."

Naruto sighed, "You know she's mine to kill..." he whined, "I mean, I've been training for years and learning everything I could from whenever I fall asleep! Her memories are like a buffet!"

"I wonder why that's the case!" shouted Jiraiya as he came from behind and delivered a vicious right hook to Naruto's face, cracking his mask, "There aren't many ways for a connection like that to be established, meaning you must have some type of seal on you that's reminiscent to a seal on Narumi... a seal that had to have been on you both, is almost totally identical, and was placed almost immediately after birth."

Naruto frowned as his mask fell apart, revealing his face to the world. Jiraiya flinched slightly at the sight of it, but said nothing.

"...Hoho?" Naruto finally chuckled out, "I suppose there's a very good reason you're the best Seal Expert in Konoha. To be able to realize that... remarkable. What gave it away?"

"Two things. First, when Orochimaru put the Gogyo Fuuin on Narumi, she had her chakra sealed. You openly admitted to not having as many dreams about her not once, but three times. You think that the Jonin there didn't hear you? They're seasoned vets, kid. They know how to interpret what a person says no matter how softly. Or at least... Morino Ibiki, head of Konoha Torture and Interrogation can."

"Well there's reason one. What's the second?" inquired Naruto, he really wanted to know... it wasn't common knowledge, after all.

"You gave yourself away." Jiraiya smiled and Naruto watched him turn to mud.

He swore and turned around to face his opponent, realizing he was fighting a clone, when he suddenly felt a pain in his gut...

"Gogyo Fuuin!" Jiraiya shouted when he struck Naruto in the gut, rocketing him away and sending him sprawling across the earth.

He spat out blood and climbed to his feet, "What the hell did that accompli-?!" his right arm suddenly turned to dust.

Dully, realization set in... '_Oh shit._'

"I figured that if I sealed you, you would be limited just like Narumi-chan was. In this case, you've lost your right arm."

'_Double shit._'

"And without your right arm, you shouldn't be able to last all that long against two Sannin."

'_Triple- wait... is this guy for real? He's still outnumbered and I was able to last a good while against the Yondaime, his wife, and the Ichibi Jinchuuriki... and he thinks this will be easy?!_'

Naruto suddenly lost the smirk that was on his face when Jiraiya disappeared and reappeared in front of him with a Rasengan, aiming for his face.

'_...Where was I? Oh, right... Triple shit._'

* * *

_Naruto... I know you're in there somewhere, if I have to die to bring it out... then I will. _

* * *

"Kawarime no Jutsu!" hissed the cloaked man quickly... suddenly, the Rasangan was closer to his face.

He felt his it harden, the bones becoming like steel.

* * *

_"Oi, I get it... you don't have a name!" Naruto said, shocked. _

_I couldn't blame him. _

_"I know, I'll give you a name... yeah! I'll do that!" he grinned happily and laughed. _

_Wait... what? _

_"From this day forwards... your name will be..." _

* * *

"Kimimaro!" Naruto shouted as he watched the Rasengan tear away half of the cloaked man's face, leaving nothing but gleaming bone... and an eye that glared defiantly at Jiraiya.

Bones spiked out from all over the cloaked man, forcing Jiraiya back. Kimimaro, the cloaked man, pointed a finger at him... and fired a bone bullet.

* * *

_"Yeah... Kimimaro... Kaguya Kimimaro. It fits." _

* * *

End Ch. 24

Well, that was exciting. Though we have made no headway with 'The Fourteen', we at least know the Cloaked Man's name... and it's Kimimaro! I certainly gave enough hints at this point. I was kind of hoping that people would have figured it out sooner... but hey, whatcha gonna do?

Anyway, my next update will be on the 24th!

...Am I the only one who sees how annoying it is that chapter 24 is released on the 14th instead of the 24th? Ah well, that's the way things work, I suppose. On a side note! For some inexplicable reason, I can't open word right now. I think it may very well be a corrupted program, in which case, I might have to delete it. So, my updates might not be as certain seeing as how I'm using GoogleDocs to do my stories right now... but if it worked for "The Kitsune Hollow", then it'll work here. So... yeah. Don't get your hopes up for the 24th, I may have to skip it because of computer troubles.

Anyway... I'm off! I'll try to update on the given date. Until then, signing off!

_**Forever Signed in Blood, **_

_**Slayer End**_


End file.
